Extinction
by FusionPanda
Summary: With the council ignoring warnings about the legendary machines, they carry on. Then, out of no-where, the reapers burst into our galaxy and begin tearing us apart. No known rhyme or reason, just removing almost every race of sentient creatures in the galaxy, leaving only the most advanced to carry on. The krogan, asari, quarians; all being ripped apart. It's my job to stop them.
1. Massacare

Author's Note: So, I'm back after a long period of silence. I wasn't dead! Instead, I was working on this story! I've changed my formula; I originally used to just write chapters as I went along (which is why I think the two previous re-writes failed), but now I've written the entire thing, so if I get bored, I just have to post it! If you were looking forward to another chapter of the ME2 re-write, I'm sorry to say that that story is on life support. This time, though, things will be different; I promise!

Update 1: Updates to this story will come every Monday and Friday, so be ready!

* * *

 _August 1st, 2186_

 _1600 hours_

 _Orion Base, Systems Alliance Defence Comitee, Vancouver, United North American States, Earth_

 _Laura Shepard, Lieutenant James Vega, Rear Admiral David Anderson_

Shepard twiddled her fingers in her immense boredom to pass the time. Ever since the Alliance grounded her roughly a year ago, she'd been bored non-stop. Nothing was ever fun. She wasn't aloud to bars, the Normandy had been taken from her, she'd been separated from her friends, and she's been constantly transported from one location to the next. Even if she wanted to, Shepard couldn't call anywhere home.

Laura slowly got up and looked around for something to do. Nothing, apart from more exercises. She walked over to her locker, quickly pulled over her normal attire and replaced it with some gym-wear. She put her clothes on top of the locker and sauntered over to the dummies. She hit one weakly, hardly even damaging it. Shepard really didn't care for it, any more. What was the point? She had no idea what the future had in store; she wasn't being let out, but she wasn't doing anything productive. She needed motivation.

Thoughts came into her head of people she hated. She hated certain quarian admirals. Bunch of stuck up pricks. Shepard channelled the anger into her punch, smacking the dummy slightly harder, but still not enough. She needed something else, something she truly despised. Well, she did hate Cerberus. The female brushed her hair back and kicked the target, almost knocking it off of its post. It was good, but not quite good enough. Then Laura thought of the council, a group of intergalactic fucks ready to say things to sound threatening and then not following up on it. The turian councillor was the nicest, but he wasn't great. The salarian councillor was slightly worse, not really giving two shits to be there. And then there was the asari councillor, Tevos. Why in hell she was picked for the council was beyond Shepard. She wanted to strangle that blue-skinned bitch. Her head was so far up her asshole...

 _BAM!_

Without knowing, biotics flared all along Laura's skin. Eventually, the woman channelled that power, charged her biotics and slammed her fist as hard as she could into the dummy. The room around her lit up; every single dummy went flying, the papers on her desk went with them and the glass almost cracked. She rested her back and breathed heavily. "Good fucking exercise."

Shepard walked into the small en-suite they'd built into her room recently. She pulled off her sweat-ladened training clothes and turned on the shower. Laura walked into the hot stream of water and groaned in happiness. Something like a shower to cool her down was great, but she always needed something else. As she grabbed the bottle of soap, squirted it onto her hand and lathered it between them, thoughts of loved ones came into her head. Her mother, who she hadn't spoken to in months. Traynor, who she hadn't spoken to in even longer. _Oh, god, Traynor._ After both Laura and the Normandy were grounded, communications between the team and Shepard were cut short because of all of their ties with Cerberus. It was torture for Laura, knowing that her beloved was probably out there, doing something similar to her, having the same horrible experience as her. The thought hadn't cooled Shepard down, but, now that she thought of it, she couldn't get rid of it. She quickly finished her shower, dried herself off and got back into her alliance uniform.

Shepard walked over to the small sofa overlooking the outside world and slouched down on it. On the nearest room to the alliance structure stood a tall skyscraper with a small garden on top. In the garden, a small light-haired child played with a toy model of a ship. He ran around, pretending he was in a battle. As the female saw the child, her mind imagined the ship was in a real battle, a blurry one. _Buzzing, crashing, explosions, reapers._ Laura snapped back into reality and held her head. "Fuck..." she mumbled. What the hell was that? A vision? The last time she had one was three years ago! The small child slowly got down from the rooftop and made his way to the hotel not far from the building. The bell rang through the halls, and a message passed through to Laura's room. "Could Laura Shepard please come to the conference hall? I repeat, could Laura Shepard please come to the conference hall?" As Shepard got up, Lieutenant James Vega appeared in the door way. "I've come to get you, commander" he said, weakly smiling. The female groaned and looked to the ground. "Please, Vega, don't call me that. It brings back brilliant memories that are dead and buried."

"I'm going to keep calling you it until it's true again. You deserve to be on your ship, fending off the death of all life, not cooped up in some small scrap metal heap." Shepard smiled at the lieutenant's kind words. "I'm glad you agree. Let's get going."

Laura followed James along the corridor until she saw Anderson. "Anderson" she said, quickly acknowledging his presence. "Shepard? You look great, even if you do look a little rough around the edges." Laura chuckled and walked with Anderson and Vega. "What the hell do you expect? I've been stuck in a shit hole for weeks now." David smiled in the corner of his mouth. He knew what Shepard was getting at. The three of them walked into the room outside the hall. "See you when we get back, James" Shepard said.

"I wanna hear everything about what goes on in there, all right? Don't be long." The lieutenant smiled as Laura and David walked into the hall, and then walked over to Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams. "I saw the way you looked at the commander, Williams? You know her?" Ashley sighed and twiddled her thumbs. She didn't know how to respond. "Knew her, yeah. A long time ago."

Shepard and the admiral passed several workers on the way up to the hall. When they got there, Anderson joined the group of people behind the committee board. As Laura walked into the centre of the hall, everyone went silent. All except for the board, who leaned over their desk and stared at the female. "Shepard, just what the hell are we facing?" one committee member asked, named Garrong. "Whatever it is, it's power is... incomprehensible." Laura sighed and had a visible look of anger in her eyes. She was incredibly angry right now. "It is exactly what I've been telling you about for the past three years! You all have just not headed my words, sweeping them under the rug in denial! The reapers are here. They have to be, and they're close. Very, very close." Garrong along with the rest of the committee sighed in unison and looked back at Laura. "If what you're saying is true – if the reapers have returned – why aren't they 'harvesting' every living thing possible?" Shepard was about to loose her temper when a loud, familiar airhorn brushed the landscape around them followed by the shattering of the huge glass pane at the forefront of the room. The small shards of it showered the board. Everyone in the room including Laura turned to look at the source of the noise, and were terrified at the sight of the creature – a reaper. Six yellow eyes, six kilometres tall. It landed on the lake below, sending a tsunami of water across the streets. " _ **Shepard,**_ " it boomed, focusing its gaze on the alliance structure, charging its cannons up, " _ **Your time on this plain of existence is at an end. The harvest has begun.**_ " It fired every cannon it had, spreading the lasers across the building and slowly bringing them to a point in the hall.

The screams of the innocent were muffled by the airhorn. In an instant everything around Shepard exploded in a spew of flames and sparks. The screens cracked and fell from the wall, people perished in the fire and the desk caught fire. Harbinger was slowly joined by other reapers, who focused fire on the rest of Vancouver. Harbinger left the committee alone and wandered off into the city. "Get everyone out of here!" Shepard yelled. Anderson held his arm over his head to shield himself from the flames. "Shepard! Follow me!" Laura ran to the admiral and followed him out of the window, grabbing a pistol on the way.

"Keep to the supports" David ordered. He touched his comm and copied the channel over to Shepard's omni tool. "Who is this?" the admiral asked.

"This is Lieutenant James Vega, joined by Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams -" At the mention of Ashley's name, Laura jumped. "Williams?" she asked. With a degree of both shock and joy in her voice, Ashley spoke. "Shepard? Thank god you're alive."

"Yeah yeah yeah" Vega interrupted. "Keep the heart warming stuff for later, okay?"

"How's this stuff on your end?" Anderson asked, leaping down with Shepard to a lower level. "The skies aren't pretty, Admiral. We're taking the Normandy to a landing pad just south of here. We'll meet you down there. Vega out." After their small talk, Shepard clambered up a ladder and, when she got to the top, she stopped Anderson. "They have the Normandy?!" she exclaimed. "How long for? Where was it?"

"Calm down, Shepard. You'll get to see it soon." As David said that, the Normandy flew overhead and bombed a patrol of reaper ground troopers. "Come on. We can't afford to waste time!"

The two of them ran along the tops of the roofs until they ran into a couple of husks. "Take 'em out, Shepard." Laura did as she was told, aiming weakly at the creatures, blowing ones head of and knocking the other from the roof. She found it more difficult than ever, maybe because she had only been training her biotics. "Anderson" she said. David turned around and frowned. "We can't waste any more -" Before he could finish, Laura handed him her pistol. "Take it. You'll get more use out of it. I'll stick to my biotics."

"Only if you're sure about it."

"I'm sure" the female said, smiling warmly. Anderson gently nodded and brought Shepard down the ladder, where they were met by even more husks. "More of those bastards!" Anderson exclaimed, blindly firing at them. Laura sighed. It had been a long time since she'd used her biotics in combat. Purple and blue neon lights flared down her arm; it congealed into a biotic ball at the tips of her fingers, which she shot at the husks, sending them back down the side of the building. "Nice shot" David mumbled. A reapers airhorn echoed across the city, and a red beam cut through the room in front of the admiral and his companion. The room lit up, bright white. "Back!" Shepard screamed, grabbing Anderson and pulling him away from the blast. Once it was done, David thanked the female and walked with her into the room. Shepard looked around and saw a medi-kit. She rushed over to it and rummaged through it, picking up some medi-gel. Anderson smacked the husk trapped in a door and pushed it open. He disappeared and rummaged through the other side.

Out of the corner of her eye, Laura spotted that same little boy that was on the roof, sitting in the vent, quivering. She rushed over to him and smiled. "Hey, hey. It's all right. You're safe now."

"I'm not" the boy replied shakily. "Nobody is. We're all going to die."

"No" Laura insisted. "That won't -"

"Shepard" Anderson interrupted. "Over here." Laura looked back. The boy was gone. Her head ached as she heard what she thought was a growl. "I'm coming."

The admiral pushed a long metal pole out of the way and shuffled along a thin ledge, followed carefully by Shepard. The room shook and Anderson almost fell, but Shepard grabbed him just in time. "Thanks, Shepard. I owe you one." The female smiled and followed Anderson out of the next room. "Let's go."

The admiral and Shepard jogged side by side. "Anderson, come in. This is James." Anderson picked up the comm channel as he jogged. "What is it, James?"

"The enemy has got us pinned down, sir. We can't land. You'll have to clear out the extraction zone."

"We'll be there soon" Shepard insisted. "Double time." David and Laura ran along the grassy rooftop paths until the spotted an alliance dreadnought in the sky fighting with a reaper. "Finally, some firepow -" Anderson's celebration was cut short when a cannon blast sliced through the dreadnought, sending it crashing into the ocean. "Holy hell" David said, shocked.

"This is what we're dealing with" Shepard replied. The two of them dropped onto a small metal raft. "Help me get this down, Shepard." Laura and Anderson pulled down a long metal pipe. They ran across it and, when the got to the other side, were met with heavy reaper ground force resistance. David quickly dispatched of the forces and made his way to the landing pad, briskly followed by Shepard. The admiral found a radio on the ground, as well as an assault rifle. "They said they need it clearing" Laura said. "Let's clean it."

The admiral and the female crouched behind cover as more reaper forces closed in. They shot at the two of them, but Anderson fired back with his newly found rifle. Shepard peaked out of cover and fired a shockwave into the crowd of creatures. They roared and fought back heavily, throwing grenades as well. The admiral grabbed a primed grenade and threw it back. "Take this, you alien fucks!"

"Cavalry has arrived!" Joker exclaimed through the comm, bombing the remaining ground forces.

Anderson and Shepard rushed along an uprooted metal plank. Laura leapt onto the Normandy, but David stayed behind. "Quickly, Anderson. Get on!"

"I'm not coming with you, commander. The galaxy needs someone like you. They don't need a tired old man like me."

"Hey. You aren't pass your expiry date yet."

"Which is why they need me here on Earth. Consider yourself reinstated." The admiral threw Shepard her old dog tags. "Good luck out there, commander Shepard."

As the Normandy slowly flew away, Laura saw a civilian shuttle packed with people. That same light-haired boy from before was there, clambering onto the shuttle at the last second. Shepard watched as it slowly flew away, and she watched as it was decimated by a reaper laser beam. Laura lowered her head and sighed as the door closed.

 _August 1st, 2186_

 _1730 hours_

 _Cargo Bay, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams, Lieutenant James Vega_

Shepard, Ashley and Vega rushed into the cargo bay to answer a comm call. "That was difficult, leaving Anderson like that" Ashley said unhappily. James grunted and frowned. "Bullshit!" he yelled at the commander. "He wouldn't just -"

"I don't like it, either!" Laura retorted. "He's like a father to me, and leaving him behind is probably the hardest thing I have ever done, but it was what he wanted. If you want to join him, be my guest." Ashley answered the comm, it was admiral Hackett. "Shepard, I need you to get to Mars. There is some valubale information that we need you to retrieve."

"Mars? What's there?"

"You'll know when you get there. Hackett out." The commander shrugged unconvincingly and called the comm. "Joker, get us to Mars."


	2. Archives

Author's Note: I changed my mind! Now these chapters will be out every weekday, so this will feel a lot shorter. Before we get into this, I want to stress that, in the interest of time, all side missions are completed by my Shepard, but are not written into the story. I hope you enjoy this; reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome.

Update 1: I'll be putting up a poll on my profile throughout the posting of this story on whether or not you want a sequel to this story. If you do, feel free to PM me on what it should be about (e.g timescale, characters etc.)

* * *

 _August 1st, 2186_

 _1800 hours_

 _Martian Archives, Mars_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Lieutenant James Vega, Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams_

"Cortez" Shepard said, "run a surface scan of the Martian archives."

"Yes ma'am" he replied. Whilst he did that, Laura walked over to James and sat beside him. "Vega, look. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that" the commander said sincerely. The lieutenant looked up at Shepard and smiled. "Thanks. But, really, I should be apologizing. I should know not to speak to my commander like that." Laura smirked, reached out her arm and shook hands with Vega. She stood up and wandered back over to the shuttle pilot. "How's the scan, Cortez?" He rummaged through the scan data again and, when it was certain what was down there, he looked to his commander. "Scanners are picking up readings of several Cerberus ground forces."

"What are Cerberus doing here?" Ashley asked. Laura looked back to the lieutenant commander and shrugged her shoulders. "No clue. Let's find out."

Cortez landed the shuttle slightly further back in contrast to the army-scale Cerberus presence in the facility. Shepard, Ashley and James hopped out of the shuttle. The commander tapped the side of the shuttle to signal for Cortez to leave. "Holy hell..." Vega said, facing the scenery. Laura questioned what he saw as she walked up to him. "That's a big storm" the female said. "It's getting closer."

"We'd better get this done in time, then. Let's go." Williams and Vega followed their commander along the path. "People up ahead" Shepard whispered. "Get down." She crouched behind a large rock and ordered her squad mates to do the same. Suddenly, a bullet was fired. The lieutenant commander peaked her head out and saw a corpse fall to the ground. "They're executing people. Why?"

"Move in" Laura ordered. The three of them moved out of cover and fired at the Cerberus troopers. "She's here!" One yelled. "Shepard's here!"

"You know our orders!" another trooper replied. They fought back against the commander and her squad. James threw a grenade, which bounced off of the tankard behind the Cerberus and hit one trooper in the back of the head. It exploded, killing the group. "Nice toss, Vega. Come on. There's bound to be more up ahead. Come on." The three of them rushed up to the next courtyard and were met with more resistance. "James! Use your incendiary ammo. Ashley, concussive shot on the men by the crates." The lieutenant equipped his special ammo and Williams shot at the troops behind the crates. Vega ducked behind cover and fortified his armour. Two troops ran around two tanks and came at Shepard and her squad from the left and the right. "James, right!" Laura leapt over a small barrel, ran down the gap between the tank and the wall and met up with the trooper. He pulled out his baton and lifted up his arm, but, before he could strike, the commander grabbed his arm, twisted it around, put her hand around his head and pounded it into the rock. Laura out into the open and slammed down with her biotics, cracking the hard floor and send out a shockwave. All the cerberus soldiers around stumbled about. The ones closest to Ashley were quickly picked off by the lieutenant commander. Vega appeared from behind the tank. Shepard lead her squad into the elevator.

"So you're sure you don't know why Cerberus are here?" Williams asked. The elevator pressurized. The three of them took of their helmets and breathed. "Dammit, Ash" Laura said. "I am not with them any more. We teamed up to defeat the collectors, and that is it." Vega stepped in, standing beside the lieutenant commander. "She hasn't been in contact with them since the collector base was destroyed" he said. Ashley sighed. "Okay, okay. Sorry, but surely you can understand my reasoning." The lift stopped at the top floor. Shepard sighed and looked to Ashley. "I do, Ash. It's just -" Suddenly, a metal rumbling was heard throughout the room. It sounded like it was coming from the vents.

Liara shuffled through the vent, followed in hot pursuit by two cerberus troopers. They shot again, this time hitting Liara in the shoulder. She yelped in pain and crawled out of the vent. She ran out, quickly tailed by the troopers. As they were coming out of the vent, the asari turned around and stuck them in a singularity. She pulled out her gun and shot the two cerberus men.

Laura looked around the corner and saw the familiar asari. Her and her squad got out of cover and made their way to Liara. James raised his rifle, but the commander quickly pushed it down by his side. "Stand down, lieutenant. She's with us." With that command, Vega lowered his weapon and watched Laura welcome Liara. "Why are you here?" asked the commander. The asari backed away and sighed. "For the same reason as you, I suspect. Have the Alliance sent you on a hunt for the technology that can end this war?" Shepard nodded. Liara smirked and looked at Vega and Williams. "Hello again, Ashley. It's been a long time."

"So have you heard anything more substantial about this technology than us?" Laura asked, diverting the asari's attention away from the lieutenant and lieutenant commander. Liara nodded slowly. "I have. Whilst you were being investigated, knowing that I had incredible power as the shadow broker, Hackett contacted me and asked if I could use my resources to investigate the archives. It is some sort of Prothean technology, a super weapon, if you will." James stepped forward with his eyebrow raised. He was highly doubtful of it being Prothean. "Prothean?" he said slowly. "You sure?"

"I spent over half a millennia scouring through Prothean ruins. Believe me, This is Prothean." Shepard looked back to Vega and weakly smiled. "We can trust her, James." The commander turned back to the asari and smiled. "So, can you take us to where we need to be?" Liara nodded and pointed to a door on the upper level. "The nearest exit is through here. If we could just -" A loud welding sound was heard throughout the room, and sparks began to fly from the door. "Shit" Ashley exclaimed. "We'd better get into cover."

All four of them got into cover and waited for the door to open. When it did, soldiers in white armour with yellow lining stepped out – Cerberus. "Liara!" Shepard yelled. "Singularity!" The asari got the soldiers into a singularity, and Vega fired them down. Laura relaxed and looked at the rest of her team. "That was easy, but there'll be more. James, go back the way we came and protect Cortez in the shuttle. Dismissed." The lieutenant nodded and ran back to the shuttle. The commander turned to Liara and smiled. "Lead the way."

The asari walked over to the controls of the small machine and activated them, lifting up the contraption. The three of them hopped onto it and used it to get onto the upper levels. Laura, Ashley and Liara ran along the deck and into the next room, where Shepard crouched behind a chest high wall and heard the screams of civilians. She reached over the wall and grabbed the trooper there. She pulled him over and slammed his face into the grate. "It's the commander!" the other troopers yelled. Ashley emptied a round into as many Cerberus men as she could. "Liara, warp ammo!" Laura exclaimed. The asari equipped the ammo and fired back at the troops. One of the soldiers threw a smoke grenade in the door way. The commander moved along the railing, stood up and sent a shockwave through the cloud. Painful yelps were heard, and, when all was silent, the commander, the lieutenant commander and the broker moved through the smoke cloud. Laura turned and looked through the window overlooking the rest of Mars. "I think that dust storm is getting closer" she said, noticing that the cloud of dust seemed to be either bigger or closer – or both.

The three of them walked into the next room, guns prepped, and looked around for more troopers. "The doors are locked" T'Soni said, seeing the red squares on the fronts of the doors. Ashley lowered her weapon and looked around. "There's got to be a control pad somewhere." Laura walked into the small communication bunker in the corner of the room and looked around. She picked up some spare grenades and looked at the keypad on the desk. She ran her fingers along the keys and then pressed in a combination of buttons, which opened the doors. "Let's get going."

Shepard, Williams and T'Soni jogged up the staircase and tip-toed down the hallway. Laura heard voices in the area to her right, so she stood against a wall and signalled for Ashley to go to the column in the room. She silently moved to it and got behind it. Liara crouched down and aimed at the two troopers. Shepard peeked out of cover, flared her biotics and put the two men in a singularity. They glided through the air, and Williams was ordered to shoot them. She did so, killing the two men in just a handful of shots. "Liara, stay on this higher level!" the commander exclaimed. Her and Ashley moved down the steps. "Williams, take their weapon" Laura commanded. The lieutenant commander picked up the dead troopers rifle and reloaded the clip. The biotic and the soldier were fought by several troopers hearing the noise and pouring through the open doorway. Ashley fired back, and Shepard grabbed one man with biotics and flung him into the rest. "Let's get up there!" Williams yelled. Her and Laura ran up the staircase. The commander looked to her left and saw Liara struggling against a trooper. At the perfect time, Ashley raised her weapon and planted a bullet through the Cerberus troopers brain. "Thank you..." Liara mumbled. Laura smiled at Ashley and then lead her squad down the hall. "Helmets on, people." Shepard, Williams and T'Soni all put their helmets on and opened the door.

The three of them moved along the path, climbing down ladders, climbing up them and jumping across ledges until they got to the other side. All of them switched on their flash lights and looked around the dark room. Laura, Ashley and Liara made their way down to the windows at the bottom of the room. The shutters slowly opened. "Get down!" the commander whispered, getting his team into cover. As the shutters fully retracted, three Cerberus troopers began talking about Shepard's whereabouts. Laura quietly peeked out of cover and flared a shockwave through the window, smashing the glass, showering the shards onto the troopers. The three of them leapt over the cover and ran into the room with the troopers, guns blazing. Soon enough, the soldier were dead. "Flash lights, off" Laura commanded.

"The door is locked" Liara said. "Maybe there's something around here to unlock them."

"Look around, people" the commander ordered.

Shepard walked into a small booth and picked up two canisters of medi gel. She continued searching until she found another keypad. She tapped a combination of buttons, and a video recording appeared up on the screen. It showed a woman walking into a comm bay and killing the operators. Then it cut to an short clip of her walking down the halls, gunning down anyone she could find. The lieutenant commander looked at the video and sighed. "Guess we know how Cerberus got in" she said. Liara deeply sighed and shamefully groaned. "Goddess" she said, "how did I not see that coming?"

"No-one could've, Liara" Laura responded, walking over to the asari and comforting her. The broker looked up and smiled. "Sometimes, I don't know how you do it, commander." Shepard smiled and looked to the floor. "I think of the ones I care about, the people I consider friends." The doors out of the room unlocked. "The doors have unlocked" T'Soni spoke.

"Let's get out of here, then."

"We'd better check on James" Ashley said while following her commander along the hallway. Shepard nodded and opened her comm channels. "Vega. Lieutenant Vega, are you there?"

"Yes, ma—am."

"Your audio is a bit jumpy. You okay where you are?"

"Per—r-ectly f—i—ine, ma'am. Just ke—e-e-ep doing wh—t you're doi—i..." Laura switched off the comms and ordered her squad to go double time. The three of them entered the next room. They walked out and turret locked onto them. "Get back!" Laura yelled. They all got behind the wall and waited for the turret to stop firing. "How are we going to get past that thing?" Liara asked.

"We'd better stick to the walls" Shepard replied. She moved her and her squad forward, sticking to cover along the way until they were out of range of the gun. "It's Shepard" a trooper yelled from inside the comm bay. Laura and her team moved into the next room, biotics and guns prepared. Ashley fired first, forcing the troopers to move into cover. Liara put several of the soldiers into a singularity. The lieutenant commander killed them and ducked behind cover as the remaining troopers fired back. Shepard charged her biotics and cloaked herself. She sneaked into a space between the Cerberus troops and slammed down, sending them flying with her biotics. Ashley activated the comms and saw a live feed of two trams at the end of a station. "The only way to that Prothean artefact is across the tramways. We need to find a way to get us across." An idea popped into Ashley's head. "I know!" she exclaimed. The three of them walked back outside; the lieutenant commander looked over the dead body of a Cerberus trooper. "His radio will still be active. If I could just-" As she pulled his helmet off, Williams stepped back in horror. The man was a husk. "He looks like a husk" she said. Laura leaned in closer and examined the blue features. "Not quite fully formed though."

"Oh god" Ashley suddenly murmured, "Cerberus could have done that to you." Shepard nodded and looked to the floor in shame. She stepped closer to the body and pulled the communicator off. The buzz must've made the troopers on the other side of the comm pay attention. "Ah, good. You've finally checked in. What's your status echo squad?"

"We're fine, but Shepard and her squad are closing in on our location."

"Right. We'll be with you in a bit, just wait there and try and hold out." The commander switched off the comm and looked to her team. "We should be ready for them" Liara said. Laura nodded and ordered the asari and the lieutenant commander into cover, where they could flank the enemy.

The tram arrived, filled with Cerberus troopers. "It's Shepard! Fire at will!" Several troopers leapt over to the side of the tram and shot at the commander. Ashley and Liara killed a lot of the soldiers in the tram and then focused their fire on the people outside of the tram. One of them turned back and shot at Williams; she quickly ducked further behind cover to avoid the bullets, whilst Shepard jumped over the railing, flared her biotics down along her fist and slammed down as hard as possible. The troopers flew through the air and crashed in random places. "Clear out the tram!" the commander ordered. T'Soni ran into the tram and threw the remaining soldier into a singularity. Ashley finished them off. The three of them got into the tram and started towards the other side. Laura looked to the other side of the station and saw another tram cart. "More troopers coming in" she said. The commander looked behind the cart and saw the sand storm just meters away. "The sandstorm's coming, shit! Down!"

Harsh breaths of sand washed over the structure, coating it in a thin layer of red dust. The windows on the tram opposite Shepard and her squad cracked and smashed, showering the troopers in shards of glass. The glass near the tram station shattered under the intense power of the storm. The wind and sand raged over to the facility for a few more moments until it slowed down. Laura and her team slowly got up and checked themselves for injuries. Their tram arrived at the station, and, soon enough, they were the station. The troopers inside retaliated back. Liara put one of the soldiers in stasis and Shepard finished him off. The rest of them got to cover, shot the squad and threw grenades. Shepard grabbed an active grenade with her biotics and threw it back at the troopers. They ran out of cover to avoid the blast, at which point Ashley shot and killed them. One trooper tried to sneak up behind the commander as she jogged by, but he made too much noise; Laura turned around and stabbed him in the chest with her omni-blade. Once the room was empty, the commander, the lieutenant commander and the broker got to cover behind the door and readied themselves. Liara quickly hacked the locked door and the three of them entered the room on the other side. "Liara, check that terminal!" the commander ordered. Shepard scouted the area around the asari whilst Williams looked through the corridors. Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared on the screen behind the commander and the broker. "Shepard" it said. Shepard and T'Soni turned around and pointed their guns at the sound – it was the illusive man. "Illusive man" Laura responded. "If you've spoken to us to stop us getting the artifact, you're too late. Liara's downloading the data now." The illusive man looked at Liara and frowned. "Miss T'Soni. You could've been such a useful ally to Cerberus, what with you resources and power."

"Over my dead body" Liara replied. The illusive man smiled. Ashley slowly made her way along the corridor, pointing her gun ahead. As she moved ahead, she spotted a mysterious woman out of the corner of her eye. "Hey!" the lieutenant commander yelled. The woman quickly turned around and grabbed Williams' head. She slammed it several times against the wall as hard as she could, and then threw her on the ground and kicked her helmet. The woman slid out her omni-blade and slammed down on the commander and the broker raced over to Williams. "Stop them, but don't kill them" the illusive man spoke through the comm. Laura checked over Ashley's body again and tried her best to stop the bleeding. All of a sudden, a mysterious figure smashed a grate down from the ceiling and dropped into the hall. "This is going to be fun" it spoke.

From head to toe, the figure was covered completely in thin, sleek metal plating over modern-looking chain mail. A tinted glass visor, which looked like a screen, covered the face of the villain. A thin metal tightly covered the back of the head, with neon orange lines running down the neck.

The figures arm quickly shifted and changed into an omni-tool. It raised it's arm and charged something on it's palm. Laura quickly ran to cover with Ashley and Liara briskly following. It fired the charged shot; the ball of neon light exploded as it touched the ground. Florescent lights spewed from the blast. "Concentrated plasma works wonder for the skin, you know?" the figure said as it slowly walked towards the commander and her squad. "Remember, Alpha, stop them. Don't. Kill them." Alpha nodded and raised it's arm again. It soon fired another shot.

"Retaliation is pointless. Cerberus will win every time." It turned around and sprinted away. Once it was gone, Laura got up from cover and looked at Ashley's weak body. "We need to find another way off of Mars!" Liara exclaimed.

"And we need to get that data" Shepard replied. T'Soni shook her head. "No, we don't. I managed to retrieve some of it before it was corrupted." Liara raised her arm and pulled up her omni-tool. A diagram of the super weapon was brought up. Laura tapped into her comm. "James, make sure the path is clear. We're coming back."

 _August 1st, 2186_

 _2000 hours_

 _Citadel_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Lieutenant James Vega, Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams, Information Broker Liara T'Soni_

After escaping from Mars, Liara, Shepard and Vega brought Ashley to the citadel, where the doctors quickly rushed her up to hospital. Liara and Shepard had booked a meeting with the council in order to present the diagram from the archives.

"Do you want me to come with you?" James asked.

"No, thanks, Vega. Liara and I will handle it. You go and relax in the bar or somewhere." The lieutenant nodded and walked off. The asari stared at her commander and sighed. "Are you ready?" Laura nodded and walked with Liara towards the elevator.

After they got to the meeting, the council declared their need to protect their own planets. Nobody liked it, but they had a point. After that, Shepard was offered a deal from the turian councillor. If she reclaimed Menae, Palaven's moon, the councillor would offer turian support. Shepard accepted.


	3. Primarch

_August 1st, 2186_

 _2000 hours_

 _Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Lieutenant James Vega, Information Broker Liara T'Soni_

Laura and Liara made their way up to the podium in front of the council. Tevos looked at the two of them with a stern expression. "I have news of your travel to the Martian archives in search of a stopping method for the reapers. What did you find?" Liara stepped forward and brought of the weapon diagram. "This. There would have been more information if Cerberus didn't beat us to the archives." The turian councillor stopped the asari and groaned. "Cerberus was there?" he asked. Liara nodded faintly; the councillor muttered words under his breath. "Carry on" Tevos insisted. T'Soni swallowed and coughed. "These are the plans for a super weapon, a weapon capable of defeating the reapers. If we could just bring it to Earth and eradicate the reapers -" The salarian councillor stopped the broker. He quickly looked at the plans. "With all due respect, we can't use this on just Earth." Shepard looked at the council in disbelief. "But -"

"No buts!" Tevos exclaimed. "Our own planets must be our priorities." Laura stepped forward and stood her ground. "If we don't attack the reapers now, they won't stop at Earth. They'll decimate each and every planet just like Earth." The councillors exchanged confusing glances between each other. "Councillor Tevos is right" the salarian councillor insisted. "We need to focus on our own planets, otherwise there will be no galaxy to protect. Earth is just another casualty of war." Within her, the commander felt the anger bubbling, rising up until she could no longer contain it. "So now you start paying attention?!" Shepard yelled. Tevos sighed and grumbled. "Excuse me?" she asked. Laura couldn't believe it! Tevos didn't even know what she was talking about! "You only start listening to me when it's right in front of your face!"

"Commander, I agree that we should've listened to you -"

"Yes, you should've! Here's me thinking killing of an entire council will bring back a better one. Come on, Liara."

Back in Udina's office, Shepard and T'Soni waited for him to arrive. When he did, the two of them explained everything.

"They're a bunch of self-concerned jackasses. We're thinking about the future, and they're stuck in the present!" The door to the human councillor's office opened; the turian councillor walked in. Laura looked at him in disgust. "Get out" she commanded. Sparatus sighed. "I know you're angry..."

"Out, now..." she retorted angrilly.

"You won't even hear me out?"

"Get out!" the commander shouted. Biotics flared down her entire body as she grew more angry. The turian looked at the commander arms. "That isn't a wise move, commander Shepard. There are several guards all of the citadel that will end you if you even so much as think as injuring any member of the council." In a matter of moments, Laura calmed down and decided to listen to what the councillor had to say. "If you want Turian support on this super weapon of yours, you can help out at base on Menae. Heavy resistance is constantly being thrown at the troops over there, and if we loose Menae, we'll loose Palaven. If you do this, I promise you will have the Turian's support you need." The commander sighed, looked down at herself and then looked up at Sparatus. "Why tell me this now? Why not at the meeting?"

"Neither asari councillor Tevos or salarian councillor Ellal would approve." The commander took a deep breath and stared at the turian. "Alright then. If it will help the war effort, I'll do it."

"Thank you, commander. We will be forever in your debt once you've done this. Head to Menae as soon as you can."

 _August 1st, 2186_

 _2200 hours_

 _Unknown Location_

 _Reaper War_

 _The Illusive Man, Kai Leng, General Alpha_

"What of the data, Alpha?" the illusive man asked. The general walked around a holographic display in the centre of the room. "I recovered as much as I could, but Eva really damaged it."

"But you still have it?" he replied. Alpha nodded and pulled up a display of the commander on it's omni-tool. "I want her out of the picture. She could've foiled the entire mission" it spoke calmly.

"I don't want her dead. Why are you so angry towards her, anyway? What do you have against her?" Alpha closed it's omni tool.

"Something that I don't want you knowing about."

 _Unknown Date_

 _Unknown Time_

 _Commander Shepard's Mind_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard_

Shepard looked around the forest. It seemed to be nightime, as everything was dark. All around her were oily shadows ghosting in and out of existence, whispering everything from the commander's mind. Just a few meters in front of her, the young boy from Earth played with his toys in the mud.

Laura made her way over to the child, but the forest was sunk into a bright red light and a reaper warhorn. The child upped and began running, covering his ears as he moved. Shepard raced after him. Suddenly, he disappeared and reappeared by a bench.

The commander ran around the bench and reached out for the little boy, but the same noise followed by the same light scared him off again. Shepard sprinted as fast as she could after the boy and quickly caught up with him. The boy suddenly stopped, turned around and smiled at the commander, before being submerged in flames. In the next moment, he was gone.

 _August 2st, 2186_

 _0700 hours_

 _SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor_

Shepard abruptly woke from her nightmare. Sweat beaded down her body. She stood up and wandered over to the bathroom. _What the hell was that?_ she wondered. Laura washed her face with water. Someone knocked on the door to her room. "I'll just be a minute!" she exclaimed. The commander rushed around and threw on the first pair of alliance clothes she could find. She walked up to the door and opened it; on the other side was a familiar face – it was Samantha.

"So, how did you know I was here, Samantha?" Shepard asked, seating herself in the small armchair opposite the specialist. "Well, I was stationed on Earth. After the attack their, I was moved off world. When I heard you and the Normandy were back in action, I asked to be stationed here. Luckily, they allowed it." Laura nodded and smiled at her long lost lover. "What's life been like for the past year? Did you miss me?"

"No, I didn't miss you" Traynor joked. "No, no. I did. Don't get me wrong, life on Earth was fun, but I just felt like a part of me was missing. What about you?"

"Well, I spent most of the year travelling between base, being kept in like a prisoner. Honestly, I was surprised that they didn't court martial me, but I'm not complaining." Suddenly, Shepard loudly cussed. "Shit! I'm supposed to go to Menae. I'll see you later, I have to have a shower." Laura stood up and ran over to the bathroom.

Once she had a shower, the commander ran down to shuttle bay and was surprised to see Traynor in full black armour from neck to toe. "Sammy?" Shepard asked. The specialist smiled and fitted her pistol to her side. "Oh, didn't I mention? I'm fully trained and qualified to fight with you now. Admittedly, I'm not very confident, but I'll get used to it." Vega smiled at her and shook her hand politely. "It's nice to finally meet you, Samantha. Shepard's said so much about you."

"Oh? Such as... ?" James glanced at the commander and smirked. Laura checked over her crew and set off for Menae.

 _August 2st, 2186_

 _0800 hours_

 _Luna Base A-27, Menae_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor, Lieutenant James Vega, General Corinthus_

The turian general greeted the commander and her team at the drop off point. "Welcome to Menae, commander Shepard. I just wish the circumstances were better." The spectre nodded and smiled at him. "It's alright, general. What's the situation like here?"

"Deteriorating quickly. Everything has gone to shit ever since that comm tower was taken by Repaer ground forces. We've tried to gain control of it again, but the enemies numbers are overwhelming." Laura looked at the general and then looked behind him to see the tower he spoke about. "If my team and I were able to get the tower back under turian control, how better would the situation be?"

"Much" Corinthus replied, turning back to look at the tower. "We'd be able to speak with forces on the other side of this moon, and we'd be in radio contact with the forces on Palaven."

"Seems like we have a job, then" the commander said. "Let's get to it people."

"The tower isn't too far" the general said through the comm. "Just head past the barracks and you should be outside the tower." The commander and her squad rushed over to the tower, where they spotted waves of husks pooling outside the structure. James equipped his incendiary ammo and fired at the reaper units. "You ready for this?" Shepard asked, turning to Traynor and smiled. The specialist nodded and rushed forward as her commander patted her on the back. It was the first time Laura had ever seen her in a firefight. Maybe she was just showing off to the commander, but she was doing pretty well. Shepard rushed in after her and fought back against the hordes alongside her. Liara fired from the sidelines whilst James switched to his shotgun and barrelled through the crowds. Shepard lifted up a cluster of husks and pulled them back down as hard as she could. "Be careful, James!" the spectre called out. Vega gunned down three more husks and helped with the rest.

The four of them made their way to the tower and looked at the console. "Seems as if the tower has been broken" Liara said.

"Liara, get up their and fix the tower."

"On it." Liara ran past the group, climbed up the tower and began re-activating it. James switched back to his rifle and began mowing through the hordes of reaper forces. "Grenade, out!" Samantha yelled. She picked off a cluster grenade from her belt and lobbed it into a gathering of husks. Laura powered up her biotics and sent a shockwave along the ground.

Three husks came up to her and attacked her. Shepard ducked under the first swing and dodged the second. She grabbed one husk's arm and pulled the creature onto the ground. She stamped on his head and deflected another punch. She flared biotics around her clenched fist and hit the second husk. The third lunged at the spectre, but Shepard headbutted it and slammed down on it.

"The tower is back online!" Liara yelled. "I'm coming down! Cover me!" Shepard, Vega and Traynor guarded the asari as she came down the ladder. Laura activated her comm as the general tried to contact her. "Communications are clear again, commander. Thank you. Get back to base, there's another issue that needs dealing with." The spectre and her squad ran back to the base, but Corinthus directed them elsewhere.

The four of them got to the barracks. "Liara, Vega, defend the sides. Samantha, get on the second turret." Laura got into the first turret and began firing at the ground units that were slowly moving in. The commander focused on the further away enemies whilst the specialist paid more attention to the closer enemies. Several husks clambered up the rocks and ran to the barracks, but the lieutenant and the broker held off the flank. All of a sudden, a brute of a creature lumbered from around the corner. "What the hell is that thing?" James exclaimed. Samantha and Laura began firing at the creature, but it didn't seem to have an effect. The bulky abomination slammed into the barracks, which made Traynor and Shepard topple off and fall.

They landed not too far away from the creature. It roared and, as it was beating it's chest, Traynor threw a sticky grenade which latched onto the beast and made it stagger. It roared again and ran towards the commander. Laura quickly jumped to the side, charged her powers and shot a quick burst of biotic energy at the beast's face. It screamed and staggered backwards. Samantha leapt onto it's back, pulled out her pistol and began shooting it in the head until it slowly collapsed.

The turian general contacted the spectre through the comm. "Commander, we need you to extract the next primarch from a small camp on Menae. I'm sending you the location now." Shepard looked up to the barracks and to the rest of her squad. "Traynor and I can't get back up" she yelled.

"We'll go to the navpoint location and meet with you there. We'll go through the camp." Shepard nodded.

"So how are you finding it so far?" the spectre asked, turning to the specialist and smirking. Traynor smiled back. "Pretty good." Laura nodded.

The two of them ran as fast as they could until they reached the camp. Once they did, Shepard overlooked the fighting. She was suddenly stopped by someone calling her name. "Commander Shepard..." came a deep and raspy voice. Laura turned around and smiled as she saw Garrus. "Vakarian!" she exclaimed. The spectre walked over to the friendly turian and shook his hand. "Found him at the camp" Vega claimed.

"It's good to see you, Garrus. Are you defending Palaven?"

"You could say that. After the reapers invaded, they got me to head this team, seeing as I knew the most about the reapers. I -" A loud cry followed by several gunshots interrupted the conversation. "If you want to talk more about this to me, do it on the Normandy. Once this is done, I'm coming with you!"

All of the got into cover. "Don't let those reaper troops get any further!" the spectre commanded. "Liara, use your warp ammo." Laura looked over cover and released a heavy shockwave, knocking the majority of the troops aside. "James and Traynor, focus fire on that brute!" Shepard yelled. Suddenly, another one crawled out from behind a rock. The commander looked around for something to defeat them, and she eventually found something. She pulled up the large reaper weapon to her shoulder and aimed it at the two brutes. "Get back!" she screamed. She charged the weapon and then fired it, which cleared out the camp.

She helped up her team and made her way to the primarch. "Primarch victus. You need to come with us."

"Primarch?" he asked. "Me?"

"Yes. You need to take up the position. Palaven needs you."

"But there isn't left on Palaven to save."

"Yes there is! As long as there is one person, there is someone worth saving. Please, come with us." Victus thought about it for a moment, and then smiled. "Okay. Just let me gather my things first."

"Of course."


	4. Female

_August 2st, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _War Room, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Primarch Adrien Victus_

Shepard and the primarch walked into the war room. "Just stay here, Primarch Victus. EDI, can you set him up with a call to the turian councillor?"

"I will try, Shepard." Laura smiled and left the room. Traynor joined her as she made her way into the CIC deck. "So... how did I do?" the specialist asked, trying desperately to steady her speech. Shepard chuckled, turned to Samantha and kissed her on the forehead. "You did well" she said. "If I'm honest, better than I expected. Now, if you don't mind me, I would love to talk, but I have important issues to deal with."

"That's alright. Maybe we could catch up properly after the next mission?"

"Sure."

Laura walked into the elevator and made her way to her cabin. Once she got in there, she sighed and sauntered over to her computer. It had only been a few days since the Reaper invasion began, and Shepard was already facing hardships. Ashley was on the brink of death, Earth was being destroyed and, even though they had the strongest military fleet at their disposal, the spectre felt unhappy. She had a small sliver of hope for the galaxy's survival, but she knew it wouldn't be long before they were destroyed.

A call came into the screen on the commander's computer. She answered it; it was Admiral Hackett. "Yes, sir? Is there something you want?"

"I've called to tell you that the other forces are ready for the meeting. Is the turian primarch ready as well?"

"Uh, yeah – sure, sure. Let me just give him some time to get ready."

With that, Shepard met with the primarch and told him to get ready. She rushed back up to her cabin and changed into her formal attire. She and the primarch made their way into the conference room. "Commander Shepard..." the salarian dalatrass breathed. Laura smiled and didn't take her eyes off of the dalatrass. "Not expecting me?"

"As I was saying, the Krogan is in no place to make demands!" the salarian yelled. Laura looked over to who the Dalatrass was talking about; it was Wrex. "Wrex?" the spectre said. The krogan turned around and smiled. "The krogan has a name" he insisted, looking back at the salarian. "Urdnot Wrex. And I'm not just some junkyard varren you unleash whenever you're in trouble. I have my own problems. A platoon of reaper scouts arrived on Tuchunka a matter of days ago. So why should I care if a few turians go extinct?" Victus folded his arms behind his back and grumbled. "Trying to draw out the negotiation, Wrex, because it'll get you nowhere. We have no time for it. Just tell us what you want."

"I'll tell you what I need... a cure for the genophage." The dalatrass' eyes widened. "Absolutely not! The genophage is nonegotiable."

"As much as you dislike him, Wrex is right. Nothing you will say would change that" the primarch spoke. Shepard sighed and looked at the salarian angrily. "Your people should have thought the matter through! Was it really a surprise the krogan rebelled?"

"We made a rash decision. We turned to the krogan on desperation. We made a mistake, just like you will make one today. No good can come from curing the genophage."

"Whether you like it or not, we need the krogan to help win this war. And what's more, they deserve this. Generations of misfourtune."

"And what happens when this war is over?"

"We'll find a new way to keep the peace."

"And they'll break it -"

"Enough!" the turian primarch yelled. He looked at the spectre intently, and then to the dalatrass. "This is all theoretical. There's no time to formulate a cure – it would take years." Wrex grunted and looked up. "My sources say different." The krogan raised his arm and played a video from his omni tool. He paused the clip a few seconds in and looked at Shepard. "Commander, do you remember Maelon?" The spectre nodded bluntly, a dull glimmer of worry in her throat. "Well, he finally grew a conscious. He was testing cures for the genophage on Tuchunka, but slaughtered my people in the process. What you probably didn't know was other females survived the experiments." The krogan continued the clip, and as it played he spoke. "Once we were done there, the dalatrass sent in a team to clean up the mess and take the survivors prisoner." The clip ended after showing brief glimpses of female krogan in cells. The commander, the primarch and the krogan turned to look at the salarian in disgust. "Where did you get this? It – it could be a fabrication!"

"Don't insult me!" Wrex yelled, slamming his fists on the table. "Those are my people! They're immune to the genophage, and you're going to give them back."

"Dalatrass, is this true?" the turian primarch asked. The dalatrass looked around in worry. "How will curing the genophage benefit my people?"

"You selfish moron" Laura uttered. "We need the krogan. Without them, your people will be wiped out!"

"And I'll be the last friendly turian you'll ever see. Give them back." The salarian rested her face in her palm and sighed. "The females are being kept at one of our STG bases on Sur'Kesh." The human and krogan left the room in a fit of anger.

 _August 2st, 2186_

 _1500 hours_

 _South Docking Bay, STG Medical Military Outpost, Sur'Kesh_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Clan Leader Urdnot Wrex, Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor, Information Broker Liara T'Soni_

With new weapon upgrades fitted, Shepard and her squad made their way to the southern-most docking bay of the STG base. "Wrex, this is the Salarian homeworld we're headed to. They aren't used to seeing krogan here, so keep it down."

"I still don't trust a word they say" Wrex retorted, checking his shotgun. "And I don't blame you. Just play nice."

"Commander" Samantha interrupted, "I just received word that a group of Salarian's will meet us at the docks."

"Thanks. Remember what I said, Wrex."

"Commander, it's saying we don't have clearance to land" Cortez said as he got closer to the ground. "Let's see if they can resist a krogan airdrop." The krogan walked over to the door of the shuttler; before Laura could stop him, he leapt out and landed with a hard smash on the ground. Two salarian soldier jogged up to him, but he brushed them aside and pulled out his weapon. Salarian snipers on the rooftops lined up their sights on the krogan. Several units rushed over to Wrex. "Halt!" one trooper yelled. Suddenly, a salarian in black armour came running over. "Stand down! Hold your fire! Commander Shepard, restrain your colleague. We only found out about this transfer a few moments ago!" The spectre and her team clambered down from the shuttle. "If I could, I'd like to avoid a diplomatic incident. But you have something Wrex wants."

"I understand, but you must keep your team under guard." Shepard looked between her team and told Wrex to stay by the shuttle. Laura, Traynor and T'Soni followed the salarian through the courtyard. "My name is Padok Wiks. I appreciate your understanding, commander, but with war on our minds our people are on edge. This base contains sensitive information."

"Like the female krogan?" the commander retorted quickly.

"I'm aware of how this must look, but this was for their own good-"

"Save the shit. Just tell me how to get to them."

"You'll need clearance for the upper levels. Go to the elevator on the other side of the room when you're ready." The salarian walked away, leaving Shepard, Traynor and T'Soni alone. "I don't like this place already" Laura stated. "There's just... I don't know."

The commander and her squad made their way over to the elevator. Shepard looked around for their Wikks, and called out his name. "Just identify yourself at the terminal" he replied over comm. The spectre stood in front of the scanner and registered herself.

 _Welcome, Commander Shepard. Please, step inside._

Shepard, followed by her team, walked into the elevator and waited to get to the floor below. As they reached it, the doors opened and the sirens inside the facility blared.

 _Alert. All scramble teams circle the perimeter._

"That doesn't seem good" Liara said.

"I'm picking up heat signatures in and around that area, commander" Cortez interrupted via the radio. "Make your journey quick." Laura nodded and looked for her guide. "All specimens accounted for!" one salarian yelled. The group around him cleared, revealing him to be Mordin. "Mordin?!" Shepard exclaimed.

"Shepard. Excellent timing. Good to have you here. Surprise understandable." The doctor leaned in and smirked. "Have been helping female krogan. Feed information to clan Urdnot. Strange. Security warnings unusual. Need to get offworld. Come. Follow me." Mordin, Shepard, Liara and Traynor followed each other down the hallway. "Females had weakened immune systems. Side effect of cure. Some... didn't survive. Cure was saved, but not final. Crucial details missing in order to complete cure. One last female krogan. Can synthesize cure from her tissue. Here. Please be careful. Krogan slow to trust." The pod they had stopped outside of was the krogan's. "My name is commander Shepard. Alliance Navy."

"Are you here to kill me?" the female responded. Liara checked over the scans of her body. "Goddess. What she's been through..."

"Urdnot Wrex and I are here to take you home."

"Why? What am I to you?"

"You're a cure. With you, the genophage can be irradiated, and the slate can be wiped clean. The krogan will be able to build families. I'm fighting for that." Suddenly, the alarms started up again, and the entire base shook. "Then I hope you brought an army."

 _Alert! Unidentified vessels have breached the perimiter._

A salarian rushed over to the controls for the krogan's pod. "What's happening?" Traynor asked frustratedly. The salarian looked to the comm specialist whilst also moving the pod. "Multiple ships are inbound!" The spectre's omni tool buzzed. She pulled it up and answered the call. "Shepard, it's Wrex. Cerberus are attacking the base. Get the females out of there, now!"

"Only one survived. Wrex. It might be safer down here."

"So the salarians can kill her like the others? Not in a million years! If you still want this alliance to happen, get her out of there!"

The three of them ran over to the elevator on the other side of the room. The salarian by the door raised his eyebrow. "Something's wrong with the door. It isn't... there, commander – try it now." The lock on the door turned green, and Laura opened it. Inside was a primed bomb, glaring red light around it. "Get back!" the spectre yelled, turning around and pushing Traynor and T'Soni out of the way. The explosion knocked them to the ground, but they quickly got to their feet. "Commander Shepard, are you alright?" a salarian asked, running up to the commander. "Is there another way out of here?" she replied, brushing off dust from her shoulders. "On the other side of the lab. An emergency exit. I'll open it from here." The salarian looked at the computer and tapped a few buttons. Laura, Liara and Samantha rushed through the door and up the ladder on the other side of it. "Shepard!" Mordin exclaimed through the comm. "Cerberus units trying to get to female. Need you here. Hurry!"

As Shepard climbed up the ladder, she laid eyes upon the fighting. She rushed around the corridor and, for a moment, saw the person from before, at Mars. The plated mystery left Laura's eyesight.

Screams of salarian's filled the walkway. From a shuttle, cerberus massacared the rest of the salarian soldiers and dropped a smoke pellet. "Troopers!" Liara exclaimed. Traynor brought out her assault rifle and fired at the first few soldiers. "Liara, singularity!" Laura shouted. The asari did as she was told and put the troopers into a singularity. Whilst they were there, Shepard ended them with a few biotic blasts in no time.

At the end of the walkway, a cerberus engineer put down a turret to attack Shepard and her squad. "Get behind cover!" she exclaimed. From behind it, the spectre teleported to the wall next to the turret. She quickly leapt over the chest high wall and slammed down as hard as she could, wiping out any threat in the immediate area. "Commander, over here!" Mordin exclaimed from within a small tank. "What is this?" the spectre questioned.

"Containment field for female krogan. Requires manual activation to proceed." Laura walked up to the control panel and pressed a sequence of buttons. "Thank you, commander. Expect more cerberus troopers at next level." Shepard nodded and ran with her team up to the next level, meeting some resistance on the way.

"By the stairs!" one cerberus soldier yelled. Another straightened his gun and fired at Shepard and her squad. The spectre quickly lashed out by covering her team in a biotic barrier. As more bullets were fired into the shield, it became progressively weaker until Laura got her team into cover and blasting apart her own shield, creating a shockwave around her. "Cover me!" the commander exclaimed as she ran up the stairs to the upper level. On the level were two cerberus guardians, holding up their shield as Shepard fired at them with biotic attacks. Laura crouched behind cover and waited for the troops to stop firing. Once they did, the spectre peeked over the wall and zoomed towards the guardians in a spree of biotics. They staggered, but didn't drop their shields. One of them bashed the commander, knocking her backwards. She stayed on her feet, though, and punched the shield. The other guardian raised her gun, but before he could fire, Shepard grabbed his firing arm, aimed it at the small gap in the other trooper's shield and fired, killing him. She twisted the arm she was holding onto and pushed the remaining guardian off of the ledge. Laura readied her biotics, took a few steps back and slammed down from the ledge, landing on the level below and causing shockwaves around her. She quickly turned to face the troopers and brought up a biotic wall. She pushed the wall forward and crushed the remaining cerberus soldiers.

"Commander, come in" Mordin said through the radio.

"I'm here, Mordin. What is it?" Shepard asked, her and her team making their way up the stairs towards the door to the next room. "Cerberus has shut off main power supply. Backup power relay nearby. Updating your navpoint. Hurry." Laura nodded and ordered Liara to open the door, which had been locked when the power was shut off.

Once Liara had opened the door, Shepard, T'Soni and Traynor made their way into the next room and were almost immediately locked into a gunfight. "Shepard, pod immobilized whilst power is off. Need protection." Laura got behind cover and looked to her team. "Liara, Sammy, do you think you could hold down the fort whilst I get the power back on?"

"Definitely. Just make it quick" Traynor replied. The spectre nodded and silently brushed past the troopers. She made her way to the navpoint location and switched on the backup source. She rushed back out and fought back against the onslaught of troopers. Liara set off a singularity, which launched several troopers into the air. Whilst they were up there, the specialist gunned them down. The commander sent a shockwave through the remaining cluster of soldiers. Once the area was clear, Mordin asked for a second manual activation. Laura pressed the same sequence of buttons as she had before, which sent the salarian and the krogan up to the next level.

"Heavy resistance. Cannot take much more. Clear out the area, Shepard" Solus ordered through the radio. "We're almost at the top" Samantha said. The specialist and the broker followed their commander down the emergency exit and up the ladder to the highest level. "Let's get this done!" Liara exclaimed, putting a trooper in stasis and shooting him in the head. Out of the corner of her eye, Laura spotted that same armour plated general, from Mars, and the first fight on Sur'Kesh. It was obviously leading the assault. Shepard and her squad fought back viscously against the waves of cerberus forces. The mysterious cerberus soldier turned around and slowly walked to his shuttle. Shepard ran up to it, but it quickly pulled out a small dagger, turned around and impaled the commander's shoulder. It kicked her back and forced the squad back as well. Two more things were known about this soldier; it was a biotic, seeing as it knocked back Traynor and T'Soni with the same biotic wall as Shepard used, and it was also a female. The spectre groaned in pain and Samantha rushed over to her. "I'll call in a shuttle" she said.

"And I'll get the female" Liara replied.

 _August 2st, 2186_

 _1800 hours_

 _Clinical Medical Bay, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor, Chief Medical Officer Dr Kathrin Chakwas_

"There you... go" the doctor said, smiling at the commander whilst she wrapped a white bandage around her shoulder. "Thank you, Dr Chakwas."

"As much as you don't want to hear this, Shepard, you may have to stay away from combat for a few days. Let the wound heal. Maybe visit some old friends or do something to pass the time." Laura weakly smiled, hopped down from the medical table and straightened her back. "It sucks, but – seeing as you advised it – I'd better do as you say. Thanks again." Shepard tightened her grip around the painkillers she'd been given and walked out of the bay. She couldn't stop thinking about that trooper; Alpha, her name was. Shepard overheard the name whilst she was down. Who the hell was she?

 _August 2st, 2186_

 _1730 hours_

 _Unknown Location_

 _Reaper War_

 _'Alpha'_

As the computer slowly began to notice the biotics coursing around the body tissue on the end of the dagger, Alpha smiled coldly.

"Project Janus begins..."


	5. Sacrifice

_August 2st, 2186_

 _1830 hours_

 _CIC Deck, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard_

Laura walked from the medical bay into the elevator and travelled up to the CIC deck. As the machine pinged, Samantha turned around and smiled. "Laura, you're here!" she exclaimed, running over to hug her lover, but stopping just before. "Oh, yeah. I have to be careful. How are you feeling?"

"High. I took some painkillers in the med bay and I feel a little drowsy." The spectre chuckled and made her way over to her computer. She checked her messages, and found two new ones.

 _Recipient: Laura Shepard_

 _Sender: Miranda Lawson_

 _Msg: Shepard. I don't have much time to write this. Meet me on the Citadel. We'll find each other._

 _Recipient: Laura Shepard_

 _Sender: Ashley Williams_

 _Msg: Hey, Shepard. Udina's been hastling me about becoming a spectre. Think about it! Me, the second human spectre. I need someone other than a doctor to talk to about this. From, Ash._

Okay. Well, at least she had something to do whilst her wound was healing.

 _August 2st, 2186_

 _2000 hours_

 _Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Executive Officer Miranda Lawson, Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams_

The citadel was quiet. Strange. Usually, it was bustling in the later hours of the day, but it was desolate. Shepard turned a corner from the docking bay and looked around for Miranda. "Commander Shepard" Lawson said. The spectre turned around and smiled as she saw the operative. "Long time, no see."

"Miranda!" Shepard called out, walking over to her. The officer smiled and patted her long-time friend on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're happy to see me."

"What are you doing here?" the spectre asked, turning around and walking along the hall. "That's what I've come here to talk about. It's Oriana, my sister. Something bad is happening again." Turning around to face the ex-cerberus officer, the commander frowned. "I thought she was safe."

"She was. When I left cerberus, the illusive man sent assassin's after me. He wanted a way to get to me, so he somehow found Oriana. I think he might be working with my father."

"Your father?" Shepard asked. "What would he want with him?"

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it can't be good. But you've got enough on your plate – you're raising a summit. You don't have time for me."

"You just told me a lot. You can't stop now. If it helps me take out the illusive man, I'll take it. When was the last time you heard from your sister?"

"About two weeks ago. I've been on-edge ever since. I swear, if they hurt her -"

"We'll get her back, Miranda. I promise."

"Thank you, commander. Look, I'm sorry, but I have to go. I can't be in one place for too long; the assassin's will find me."

"Okay. If you get any more news about Oriana, tell me."

"Will do, Shepard. I'll get back into the shadows now."

After the conversation with Miranda, Laura made her way up to the hospital. She looked around the store for a present to give to Ashley. She knew how much she liked poetry, so she picked up a collection of poems and paid for them. By chance, Shepard glanced around and spotted Thane, a friend of hers.

"Thane?" she asked, jogging over to him.

"Hello again, Shepard" the drell replied, putting his fists by his sides. "What are you doing here?" the spectre asked.

"I would've notified you of my presence earlier, but I was busy. As for why I am here – the illness, Shepard. It's getting worse. I fear my time will come sooner than expected. Do not mourn for me. I have good doctors here, and my son visits daily."

"How is he?"

"Kolyat? He's well. I don't think he likes seeing me like this, though."

"No kid would. How long do you think you have left?"

"A few months at most. I expect to be bed ridden by the end of the month. It has been a good life, and it will have a good end."

"You sure you're happy here? You could ride out you last days on the normandy, blasting reapers back to hell."

"I am at peace here, commander. I feel I would be of no use to you."

"I'm sure we could find less action-orientated jobs."

"No, no, Shepard. I hope you respect my choice to stay here. I loved every minute I spent with you, but those times are done. I am happy in a hospital bed."

"Okay, okay. It was worth a try. If you live long enough, maybe you could see the end of the war."

"I would like that." The spectre smiled warmly, stood up and held out her hand. Thane reached out his and shook Laura's hand. "Goodbye, Thane Krios. It's been a blast."

"It has. May peace be with you."

Laura smirked and left the drell alone. She asked for the whereabouts of Ashley. She made her way over to the room she was in. The soldier smiled as her commander walked in. "Shepard..." she choked.

"I'm sorry I didn't come earlier. I was wrapped up in business. Here, I got you this." The spectre handed her friend the collection of books she picked up at the market. Ashley smiled and put them on her bedside drawer. "Thanks. It gives me something else to do in here. Now, about why I called you here..."

"Ah, yeah" Shepard interrupted. "I think Udina has a point."

"Really?"

"Yes. You're a great soldier, Ash, and you'll make a brilliant spectre. Besides, the job doesn't require too much paperwork either." The soldier chuckled, followed by a cough. "That's good, then. Oh, I don't know. Come back soon, Shepard. I'll have made my decision in a few days." Laura smiled, said goodbye and left the hospital.

 _August 8st, 2186_

 _1500 hours_

 _SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Science Officer Mordin Solus, Primarch Adrien Victus_

Shepard was called into the war room. She had no idea why. At least it was something to do. Her arm had been feeling better, but she'd been lousing around for days not being able to do anything.

"You called, Mordin?" the spectre asked. Victus was standing beside the salarian, reading off of his notes. "Indeed. Shepard, almost fully developed a cure."

"Almost?" Laura asked unnervingly. Adrien nodded as he scrolled through the doctor's notes. "It looks like Mordin needs a dispersal method to get the cure out there."

"Yes. Method found." Mordin closed down the current display on the war room board and brought up a holographic display of a tower. "Large tower on Tuchanka, named the Shroud. Could be re-routed to disperse cure into atmosphere."

"Alright. It can't be that simple, though. There has to be a catch."

"Reapers figured out the usefulness of the shroud. Scout is guarding it."

"Shit." Victus scrambled through ideas in his mind until he thought of a viable one. "Shepard. If I send in a group of turian scouting ships, they can distract the reaper whilst you get to the tower."

"Are you sure?" the commander asked. The primarch nodded. "Okay. I'll rally the krogan. Victus, get your troops ready."

After the meeting, Traynor quickly informed Shepard that the dalatrass was calling in the conference room. The spectre rushed through to the room and answered the salarian. "Commander Shepard. I hear you've concocted a scheme to rid the genophage? Do you really think curing it will bring an end to the war?"

"No. I don't. What I do believe is that the krogan deserve a second chance. You really want to cause extinction on a race based on what might happen?"

"What will happen is that the krogan will reproduce, and – it will get out of hand! We uplifted the krogan not for their diplomatic abilities, but for their warmongering personality. Another war is inevitable."

"What is it you want, dalatrass?" Shepard asked, folding her arms impatiently.

"Years ago, our operatives sabotaged the Shroud facility to ensure what you're planning couldn't be done. Mordin will likely note the change and fix it. If you ensure that he doesn't, then the cure's viability will be affected just enough so that it fails. No one will be the wiser."

"Oh, for god sake..."

"Commander, you wouldn't need to tell anybody. Let Urdnot Wrex believe you fulfilled your side of the deal. We could proivde our very best scientists and fleets."

"To hell with your fleets, dalatrass. We're done here!" Before the salarian had time to answer, the spectre shut off the comm and opened up her omni-tool. "Joker. Set a course for Tuchanka."

 _August 8st, 2186_

 _1500 hours_

 _'The Hollows', Tuchanka_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Science Officer Mordin Solus, Clan Leader Urdnot Wrex, Comn Specialist Samantha Traynor, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Eve_

"The clans are assembling at the hollows" Wrex said as he walked back and fourth along the bridge of the shuttle. "We'll land there, get the armoured convoy and head for the reaper" he repeated for the third time. Shepard rubbed her hands together and wiped the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. "Calm down, Wrex. We can do this."

"I know we can. I just... I want to follow this to the letter. This will win us our lives back."

"I know it will, Wrex." The spectre lowered her head in shame of what the dalatrass offered her. "Commander, you seem troubled" Eve uttered. "Is something the matter?" Laura sighed and looked up. "The dalatrass wanted me to sabotage the cure. She told me that the Shroud was already faulty."

"What?!" the male krogan boomed, shaking the walls of the shuttle. "That two-faced salarian weed!"

"Rest assured, Wrex, problems can be fixed. I will be able to fix it" Mordin replied. Wrex stopped pacing when his radio buzzed. "Wrex, it's Wreav. Reaper forces are at the drop point. Let's give 'em hell!"

"Hang on tight, people!" Cortez exclaimed from the cockpit.

Once the pilot moved the shuttle close enough to the ground, Wrex opened the door and leapt out, landing on a husk and blowing his brains across the floor. "Shepard, keep them away from the female. I'll sort out the other clans!" The krogan rushed forwards, crying out in anger. Laura walked out of the shuttle, biotics flaring along her body, quickly followed by Samantha and Liara. "You heard him, people. Protect Eve!"

Traynor equipped incendiary ammo and ran down some husks. Liara sided with Shepard and took down the zombie-like creatures as they slithered down the wall. The spectre backed into a group of husks. As she turned around, one of them lurched forward, pointing his withered teeth out. The commander ducked under the attack and gasped as Samantha shot the creature through the head. Laura pushed the limp corpse off of her body, briefly crouched and swept the next creatures legs, knocking him to the ground. The final husk leaned torwards the spectre; she pushed it away and stamped on the fallen husk whilst paying close attention to the other. She locked eyes with it, and it locked eyes with her. Suddenly, it rushed forward in a panic. Shepard grabbed onto the creatures jaw, readied her biotic and ripped the bone from the rest of the husk. She kicked it away and focused again and the creature clambering down the walls. Whilst Traynor fought against several units, Liara protected her commander by blasting away incoming foes. "This is as bad as palaven!" she yelled.

"They just keep coming!" Traynor exclaimed. In the background, Shepard heard Wrex scream with anger. A husk jumped at the commander whilst she was distracted, making her stagger backwards. She swung a left hook at the beast and tore one of it's rotted limbs from it's torso. It screamed and lunged forward, but Laura's biotics coiled around her fist as she raised it and slammed it into the husk's face.

"Reaper blood has finally soaked our soil!" Wrex yelled as he walked through the door, standing close to Eve. Krogan from all around cheered, and the flood of husks seemed to stop. "We have to get to the shroud. The airstrike is on its way" Shepard exclaimed as she ran up to the clan leader. "Female safe, Shepard" Mordin said as he walked down the path, being passed by several krogan. "Vitals are strong."

"A salarian, here?" a krogan asked, pushing through the crowds. "Why is he here?"

"He's saving your people -" Wrex put out an arm in front of the krogan and grumbled. "The salarian is with me, Wreav."

"You invited the enemy into our home? Typical Wrex..."

"Pipe down, both of -" Wrex growled and headbutted Wreav. He staggered, holding his head in pain. He growled fiercely and pulled out his gun, but Eve stopped him. "Enough!" she yelled. Every krogan turned to look at the female. She confidently strode down the hill. "You can let old wounds fester, as you krogan have always done..." She passed several krogan, "or you can fight the enemy we were born to destroy – create a new future for our children. I choose to fight." She turned to glare at the crowd of krogan. "Who's with me?" Shepard stepped forward and said, "I am." Wrex looked at his human friend and smirked. "I am, too." He clambered onto a large chunk of concrete. "Hold your heads high, like true krogan. There's a reaper that needs killing!" The crowd cheered in appreciation of the female and their leader. Wreav stepped forward and smiled. "Good luck, brother.

 _August 8st, 2186_

 _1600 hours_

 _Tuchanka_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Science Officer Mordin Solus, Clan Leader Urdnot Wrex, Comn Specialist Samantha Traynor, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Eve_

The convoy of heavy vehicles slumbered along the tattered remains of hard concrete roads. "Krogan ground convoy, this is turian wing Artimec. Our flight vector to the shroud is locked. We're ten minutes out and counting."

"Copy that, artimec" Laura responded confidently. "We're on our way, trying to make up lost time. Shepard out."

"Wreav won't be the only one vowing revenge for the genophage" Eve insisted. Wrex shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I'll demand that the council give back some of our old territory. We'll need room for expansion, to recapture the glory of the ancients."

"I'd say defeating the reapers gives you that right" the spectre replied.

"We'll need a new planet. This one's completely hopeless now. Female, we'll need to do some catching up" he said wolfishly.

"Wrex..." Eve chuckled. "It's a good job krogan can't blush."

"Not far now" Mordin interrupted, stopping the situation before it got too in depth. "We -"

"Krogan ground control, we're picking up something on the scanners" artimec said. "It's headed towards you!" Suddenly, the first few trucks in the convoy were thrown about by a large shockwave. The road was destroyed, preventing the remaining convoy from moving forward.

Shepard stepped out of the truck and met up with her team. She told Wrex to keep Eve safe in the truck and made her way over to the nearest krogan scout. "What happened?" she asked. The scout turned around. "Thresher Maw" he grunted. "It tore up the road." Laura nodded and radioed Wrex again. "Wrex, do you know of a way to go on ahead?"

"There's a tunnel that leads into some ruins. It should be here. Find it and then you can get out on the other side." Shepard nodded and looked around for the entrance. "I think I found it!" Samantha exclaimed. The asari and the spectre rushed over to her and checked. It was the tunnel. The three of them leapt over the gap and explored the ruins.

They made their way through the dark caverns until they came across the corpse of a rachni creature. "Rachni. What are they doing here?"

"Maybe they're trying to fight the reaper?" Wrex suggested. Shepard and her squad moved past the corpse and walked up the stairs into the open courtyard. "Vegetation" Liara said in awe as she laid eyes upon the vines wrapping around the building, "on Tuchanka?"

"Believe it or not, but Tuchunka used to be a blossoming world" Eve said, a sombre tone in her voice. "Until the nuclear war started." As the team moved forward, they were met with several reaper ground forces. Traynor fired her rifle at the far away enemies. Liara moved behind her commander as the human shot barrages of biotics at the enemies. Several cannibals rushed forward, flailing rapidly. Traynor quickly gunned them down and watched as Liara used her variety of biotic moves on the reapers. Shepard finished them off with one quick shockwave and moved forward. As she rushed over the bridge at the far end of the courtyard, the reaper scout fired its beam at the weakened structure, causing it to collapse.

Shepard landed on her face on the solid ground below. As she pushed herself up, she groaned as a pain seared from above her eye and on her chin. She looked up to the bridge. "Liara, Sammy, stay up there. Find another way around, I'll be fine." The commander slowly got to her feet and held the side of her gut in pain. She pulled a small package of medi-gel off of her belt, but as she saw a group of reaper forces rush towards her, she realised that there wasn't time. She put the gel package back on her belt and ran towards the troops. One husk rushed forward, but Shepard grabbed it by the head and kneed it in the chest. She used it as a shield as marauders fired at her. Once they were done, she teleported forwards and slammed down. Two more marauders sprinted towards her. One lunged forward, grabbing the commander by the shoulder and punching her in the gut twice. Laura cried out in pain and watched as the other marauder slowly made its way over to her. In the small window of time she had, Shepard punched one reaper force and held the other in a biotic bubble for a few bleak moments before throwing it as far away as possible.

The reaper scout took aim, powering its cannon. Laura looked at the harsh buzzing sound and rushed to cover. The beam narrowly missed the commander, brushing heat against her body. "Just hang in there a few more moments, Shepard!" Wrex exclaimed through the radio. "The turian pilots are almost at the reaper." Laura panicked and rushed through the open courtyard, leaving herself vulnerable. The reaper fired again, this time chipping the cover the spectre found herself behind. "Coming in hot!" artimec exclaimed. Five turian ships flew into the scene. They began rapidly firing at the scout. Annoyed, it aimed its laser up and cut through one of the ships. The flaming wreckage came crashing down, landing close to Shepard. The other ships fired again and again. "We're picking up something on the scanners" artimec yelled. As the reaper was distracted, Laura ran out and looked over the chiselled stone railing. A large creature came rumbling across the desert, spewing dust and mud in its wake. "Come on..." a krogan prayed through the comms. Out of the corner of her eye, the spectre saw the rest of the convoy driving along. "Wrex, don't tell me you're in there!" Laura exclaimed as she saw that the convoy would eventually cross paths with the maw. "I'm not, but my brother is!" The line of trucks rushed along the sand. Instead of swerving or stopping, they needed to be at the tower, so they thought they could rush past the beast. It drove its way through the desert. "Wreav! NO!" It was at that moment that the thresher maw and the convoy of trucks collided. Shepard heard and saw the explosion; a huge orange pop followed by the sound of crunching metal. The remaining trucks slammed into the maw, barely damaging its thickly armoured skin. "Dammit..." Wrex said, almost free of emotion. Suddenly, the maw diverted its route. "It's heading towards us!" artimec yelled. As the creature moved at a breakneck pace through the floor, a small smile formed on the commanders face. "Not towards _them_..." The scout charged up another shot, and then _BAM!_

The thresher maw slammed into the side of the reaper, knocking its shot away. "Keep firing!" artimec exclaimed. As the reaper struggled, the beast roared and bit into the metal-skinned machine. All of a sudden, a loud buzz was sound, followed by a red laser coming out of the maw's back. The thresher fell to the floor lifeless, but carried the dying reaper with it. "Now's your chance!" Eve said through the comm. "Get into the tower."

Laura rushed over to the tower, where she met back up with Mordin and Eve. "Mordin, you seem agitated" Shepard pointed out. The salarian quickly scrolled over the data pad. "Sabotage more in-depth than first thought."

"But you can still fix it, right?" the spectre asked, her voice quavering slightly.

"Yes, but dispersal unit requires manual activation. Have to go up."

"But, have you seen that building? It's falling apart!" the commander exclaimed, looking up at the explosions going off at the top of the shroud. "I know. Commander, keep Eve safe." Mordin rushed into the elevator.

"Wait! Is there really no other way?"

"No. Have tried. Have failed." Knowing there was nothing else that could be done, Laura stepped back and sighed. "You were a good friend Mordin. If you believe in a Salarian afterlife, I hope you're happy there. Goodbye." The doctor took a deep breath and tapped the controls. "Keep Eve safe" he repeated as the glass door sealed him in. "Keep the peace."

The elevator zoomed up to the top floor. As the door opened, Mordin stepped out and calmly walked over to the control panel as explosions and fire bloomed all around him. As he typed into the console, he began to sing to himself. "I've studied species turian, asari and batrian" He began. "I'm quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology) because I am an expert (which I know is a tautology.)My xenoscience studies range from urban to argrarian. I am the very model of a scientist salaria-" A blast consumed the salarian just as he had completed the dispersal.

Golden flakes rained down upon the ground. Wrex stepped out of his truck and felt the flakes on his skin. Shepard did the same. She held out her palm and looked at the shimmering flakes. She smiled, knowing that this would bring an end to an era.

As Wrex stared into a fire, Shepard stood next to him, looking blankly at the flames. "This will go down in history" the krogan proclaimed. "Of course, we can't have it being known that a salarian saved the day. I was thinking... someone who was there from the beginning. How about you, Shepard?" Laura looked at the krogan and smiled warmly. "I... I can't, Wrex. Just let Mordin have his glory. He deserves it." Wrex sighed.

"Alright, commander. The little runt earned this one." Shepard looked across the funeral pire and stared at Eve. "He saved her life, and I promised to keep her safe."

"Don't worry, Shepard. We'll protect her. And besides, she's got a long road ahead of her yet."


	6. Leave

Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter is late. I have no excuse, expect for the fact that it just slipped my mind. Back on schedule!

* * *

 _August 8st, 2186_

 _1700 hours_

 _War Room, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett_

"Congratulations on the alliance, commander" Hackett said hopefully, walking into the range of the comm. Regretfully, Shepard looked to the floor in shame. "It wasn't easy. I lost some good people."

"I heard about professor Solus" the admiral replied, "I'm sorry."

"I just... wish I could've done more to save him."

"Oh, and Shepard?" The spectre grunted. "Visit the residential sector of the citadel; apartment set C-2. Talk to the lady at the desk. She'll tell you what to do from there." Laura nodded, said goodbye and shut of the channel.

 _August 7st, 2186_

 _2300 hours_

 _Unknown Location_

 _Reaper War_

 _The Illusive Man, Alpha_

"It's taken us a few days, but we managed it" Alpha confirmed. "Wanna see?" she asked. The Illusive Man subtly nodded and looked at the soldier in the containment field. "Subject, pick up that box with your powers" the general pointed to a small container on a desk to the side of the Cerberus test subject. Dark purple swirled down his arm and congealed at his palm. He raised his hand, and raised the box with it. "Subject, crush the desk." The subject clenched his fist; the desk to the side of him collapsed in on itself. "Subject, do some damage" Alpha said coldly. The soldier raised his arms in the air, clapped his hands together, and then quickly pulled them apart. The containment field shattered, sending shards all over the room. "Subject, walk to us" the illusive man spoke. The Cerberus soldier slowly walked towards his overseers, the biotics around his body slowly fading away. "And this can be re-done?" the illusive man asked quietly. Alpha nodded calmly, unable to resist breaking into a cruel smile. "Until the sun goes out. When do you want me to get to work?"

"Right away. I want 650,000 of these clones made in three days, and I want them on the field in four. Get to it."

 _August 8st, 2186_

 _1800 hours_

 _Apartment Block C-2, Residential Sector, Zakera Ward, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Admiral David Anderson_

Shepard took a shuttle to the residential sector of the zakera ward and spoke to the lady at the front. Laura followed her directions. As she walked through the door to the apartment, her jaw dropped. "Holy shit..." It felt like there wasn't enough time in the day to take in the scenery. "Commander, Anderson is trying to access the QEC. I'll patch him in now." The terminal under the huge TV buzzed. The spectre walked over to it and answered the call. "Shepard."

"Admiral. How you holding up?"

"The war's been tough on me. Anyway, we aren't here to talk about me."

"Yeah. Hackett sent me a message about this apartment."

"I want you to have it. Take it off my hands." Laura smiled and looked around in bewilderment. "You're serious?!"

"You need a place to recharge, clear your head. I had this place lying around, gathering dust." As he spoke, Shepard walked around the apartment, looking at the different rooms. "Kahlee wanted to settle down here. Thing is, the longer I'm on Earth, the less I want to leave. I want as few loose ends out there as possible. You'd be doing me a favour." The commander made her way over to the huge window at the front and smiled warmly. "That's really generous."  
"It's practical. This war needs you in the best shaped possible. Relaxed. Focused."

"If you're sure. Thank you, Anderson."

"Make yourself at home. It is yours, after all."

"I'm sure I can manage."

"Good. I'll speak with you later."

"Be careful out there, Anderson. Don't want you giving _all_ of your stuff to me." He chuckled.

"You too, Shepard."

Anderson shut off the comm channel. Laura ran up the stairs and jogged into her bedroom. She leapt onto the bed. "I could settle for this" she said to herself. She began to close her eyes, but a slow beeping sound alerted her. "Fuck, what is that?" She stood up and searched for the source of the noise. Eventually, she found it; it was her private terminal. She opened it up and saw a message from Joker inviting her to a sushi restaurant. She nodded and messaged him back.

 _Sure. Just wait until I've bathed._

She waited a few second for the reply.

 _Scratch that. I'll wait for a bit here and then I'll come and meet you at your place._

The spectre nodded and started towards the bathroom. On the way, she saw a small gym. She smirked and walked into it. She balanced the punching bag and threw a few punches at it. She quickly grew bored of that, so she made her way into the bathroom. She saw a hot tub in the corner, and then she saw a shower. "Hot tub... shower... hot tub... shower. Screw it, I've got time."

Laura slowly undid her buckle and pulled out the belt. She slung it over the drying rack beside the tub. The commander loosely grabbed the rim of her joggers and pulled them down. She removed her boots and then folded up her trousers and put them by the rack. She kicked the shoes next to the trousers. The spectre grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

She reached around and unbuckled her bra. She put it on top of the folded trousers. Laura then pulled down her panties, kicked them off and threw them on top of her trousers.

She pressed the button on the tub and watched as it began dispersing bubbles. Shepard untied her hair and let it flow down over her shoulders. She clambered into the hot tub and smiled as she felt the warm water lap against her skin. "The reapers can wait..."

After her relaxing bathe, Shepard put on some casual clothes and waited for Joker to arrive. Once he did the two of them flew in a car to the sushi place. As the two of them stepped out, Joker said, "I've never seen more neon anywhere in my life." Laura laughed and raised a brow as a man at the front of the queue beckoned for her and her pilot. The two of them walked over to the man. "Commander Shepard. Mr. Moreau. Your table has been preserved." Jeff lead his commander over to the table. They both sat down at opposite ends. "So this place is pretty good, huh?"

"Not too shabby" Laura replied jokingly.

"It's serious. Like, 'French guy at the door' serious. The line outside was huge!"

"Ah, fuck 'em. We deserve to let our hair down. How's the Normandy?"

"Good, good. Just maintenance stuff. It's hard to stomach the fact that complete strangers are poking around on my ship. I – I mean, your ship."

"Our ship" Laura said, grabbing the drink in front of her and downing it. "Let's have some fun."

"Commander!" someone yelled from within the crowd. She nervously rushed through it. "Or not." She jogged over to the commander and Joker. "This is urgent! Shepard, I'm Staff Analyst Maya Brooks. Alliance – excuse me" she quickly saluted the spectre, hoping she had forgotten. "Alliance intelligence. There are people trying to kill you."

"Tell me something I don't know!" Laura chuckled in response.

"No! Not Cerberus or the reapers! I mean other people. New people! It's... it's... huh. Someone's hacking your account. Comm channels, personal records. They're targeting you specifically."

"Shit. What are they after?" Joker asked, sipping his beverage.

"That isn't certain just yet. Last time I guessed without certainty, my entire crew almost choked to death on a gas planet."

"Calm down, Brooks. Just take a breath. From the top..."

"Excuse me!" the host exclaimed. "You don't have a reservation -" the troops walking in pushed him out of the way and made their way into the restaurant. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen" one merc said, shooting at the roof whilst other began to held attendees at gunpoint. "Enjoying your drinks?"

"Down!" Shepard yelled, pushing over a table for cover. "Spread out, boys. Find me the spectre!"

"Shepard, you can't use your biotics here. There are people. This place is too concentrated!"

"Ah, dammit!"

"What is it?" Laura asked, turning to Joker. "I think my kidneys burst!"

"God's sake!" Suddenly, one of the troopers found Brooks and pulled her away. "Dammit. Joker, you find the crew, I'll get Brooks back."

"Find the crew" Joker said. "Got it." He got up and slowly shifted away.

As one of the mercs came closer, Laura pulled him over the flipped table and slammed into him with her biotics. She grabbed his suppressed weapon and kept it by her side. The spectre rolled from one flipped table to another, moving along it silently. She peeked over and looked for Brooks. "Brooks..." she muttered. Maya looked over to her and smirked. As two troopers came into view, one of them walked over to the commander. She ducked behind the table and waited for the opportunity. She reached around, grabbing his ankle, and pulled him down. She silenced him with her biotics and gasped as the other soldier came over. Shepard took him down as well; she looked over her cover and saw two other guards. She took a risk and quickly teleported to the mini-bar. The two mercs glanced over as they heard a noise. One of them walked over. The spectre took him down, but not before the other trooper could see her. She focused her aim and shot him in the head.

Laura walked over to Maya and picked her up. "Thank you, commander -" All of a sudden, a sniper landed and took aim. Before he could fire, Brooks pushed the spectre from the line of fire and gasped as the bullet pierced her shoulder. "Brooks!" Shepard exclaimed. The merc fired a few more shots, but they all hit the glass. Laura gasped as she heard a small crack, then a big crack, and then... _CRASH!_ The glass from under the commander collapsed, and she fell down onto a sign. She barrelled through them, landed on the angled window below and rolled down. At the last second, she grabbed onto an open window and held on for dear life, but the wreckage fell and hit her. She fell off and rolled into the building.

Laura groaned. With one hand, she grabbed her weapon, and with the other, she felt the sting on her arm. A deep cut, probably from the shattered glass. She moaned in pain as she raised herself to her feet. "Commander!" Brooks exclaimed through the spectre's earpiece. "I found a secure terminal! Are you okay down there?"

"I'm okay. But... what about you?"

"It was only a flesh wound. I used... a lot of medi-gel and now I can't feel my arm. Should I... do anything?"

"Alert C-Sec. I'll look for a way out." Shepard limped down the corridor and holstered her pistol. She stepped outside and walked over to ladder, sliding down it. She hopped over to the next platform and alerted Brooks of the landing pad across the tunnel. "I'll check the area. Transportation, no. Food, no. Aha! It's a skycar lot. Crision Motors!"

"Get a skycar there. I'll look for a way over." _Fuck..._ Laura thought to herself. _I can't make that, even with my biotics. Looks like I'll have to go the long way._ She ran into the small shelter, climbed up the ladder and began walking along the small path until she got to the fencing. "Man! The advance team screwed it up!" one merc exclaimed. Shepard teleported to him and slammed down. The other mercs looks to the commander and began shooting. Laura brought up a biotic wall and killed off two troopers with a warp. The other reloaded their clips, so the spectre rushed towards them and knocked them out.

"Shepard" Liara muttered through the radio. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Might need a little backup."

"Thank the goddess. Joker explained what happened. I'm on foot, but should reach you soon."

"Excuse me? Who is this?" Brooks exclaimed.

"Girls, play nice. If Joker mentioned Analyst Brooks, this is her. If not, this is Analyst Brooks." Laura sighed and moved through the corridor confidently until she was met with resistance at the end. Several mercs fired from the hip at the commander, and they all missed. Before they could escape, Laura teleported in and slammed down as hard as possible. "Garrus, here" the turian spoke through the radio whilst Shepard was in a gunfight. "Heard you're in trouble. Everybody's coming your way."

"Good to hear. Things are a little dicey" the spectre shouted over loud fire.

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

Laura rushed along and saw a way through. "Brooks, I found a way through, but it's locked."

"Right, because of the, uh, lockdown. Can you get through?"

"I'll try to override it."

The commander walked over to the door and activated it. It confirmed her spectre access, but it buzzed loudly, alerting the nearby mercs. "She's down here!" They began to open fire; the spectre quickly shuffled into cover. "Goddess, what are you doing?" Liara exclaimed. "I could hear that from here!"

"I've got this!" She popped out and sent a shockwave for the mercs. "Brooks sent me the Navpoint for the lot. I'll meet you there. What do you know about these mercs?"

"Uh... they have a bad temper and lots of guns?"

"That isn't helpful." Shepard narrowly avoided a shot to the neck, and she retaliated by sabotaging one of the troopers suits. He couldn't move, so the commander ran over to him and used him as a human shield. She threw his body away and gunned down the rest of the mercs. "Okay" Brooks said as Laura tried to find the lot. "There's a C-Sec shuttle inbound if you can get to the lot. Out. I mean, over and out. I... damnit!"

As the spectre opened the door, she saw Liara take down two mercs with ease. The asari put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Having a bad day, Shepard?"

"You could say that" she said, embracing the alien. "Sorry. It's just so great to see a friendly face after the surprise those bastards gave me. Landing pad's over there, but it's behind a locked gate."

"I'll look for the control panel."

"I like your outfit" Liara muttered as Laura walked by in her casual clothing. "Control panel, right."

"I heard you fell through a fish tank" Liara exclaimed as the two of them looked for the panel. "We'll talk about it later."

"A shame. I quite liked that restaurant."

"Later." Shepard found a door and aimed a gun at the window. Liara quickly pushed the gun down and smirked. "Calm down." She walked over to the window and lightly tapped on it twice. "Hello? Could you please open the gate?" The door behind them opened. "Thank you." The two of them walked along and passed through the now open gate.

As the shuttle landed, Shepard realised something was wrong. The door opened, revealing several mercs. Just before they opened fire, Shepard pulled up a biotic wall and pushed Liara aside. As more bullets were fired, the wall became more unstable. "ARGH!" came a cry. The window above smashed, and a friendly crimson-tinted krogan slammed down on the shuttle. He ran over the top, jumped down and ran into the shuttle. He punched one, kicked another and headbutted two more. He threw out the airlock, and kicked the shit of the rest.

"Wrex?" Laura asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, just butting heads with the council over expansion." He handed Shepard the gun from a dead merc. An explosion behind them forced them to get into cover. "Shepard" Joker said. "Picked up Brooks. Figured you'd have questions. We'll be there soon." Wrex ran into the battlefield, picked up a sign and smacked a merc over the head with it. Liara put two of the troopers into a singularity, and Laura began throwing objects at them with her biotics, including her own gun. The krogan gunned down four more mercs, but began quickly to run out of ammo. The asari took out three mercs with her pistol, and six more with her biotics. "They're overwhelming us!" One trooper crawled up behind the spectre and tackled her. She fell to the ground, with the shuttle arriving just after. The door opened, and Brooks shot down the merc about to kill the commander. "Get in!" she screamed. Wrex, Liara and Laura managed to get in and fly away to relative safety.


	7. Khan

_August 8st, 2186_

 _2200 hours_

 _Apartment Block C-2, Residential Sector, Zakera Ward, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Information Analyst Maya Brooks, Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, Clan Leader Urdnot Wrex_

"Does anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Wrex asked as they all came in and sat down on the sofas in Shepard's apartment. "What do those mercenaries want?" Liara asked. "They were using C-Sec shuttles."

"I've never seen them before" Laura responded bluntly.

"I can't believe you survived all that!" Maya exclaimed, pacing back and fourth. "They had guns, and grenades, and those drone thingys!"

"Brooks, are the effects of that medi still active, 'cause you need to calm down!" Laura joked. "How did you get mixed up in this?"

"I monitor data for Alliance intel to prevent fraud and hacking ID's. I even created a program for it. It's really neat. I named it 'Mr Biscuits' after my cat."

"Brooks, honey. Do ya' think you could get back on track?"

"Right! Sorry! Mr Bis... my program detected a breach in your classified files. Soon, everything we had on you was compromised; personnel files, mission reports, everything. Imagine what they could do with spectre access codes."

"Explains why they need you dead" Wrex replied. "Nothing to get in the way."

"Okay. We need to find out who they are, and clean this up. Any leads?"

"Maybe. That pistol you picked up..." Liara said. Shepard unholstered the small weapon and looked it over. "For something so small, it packs a hell of a punch" the krogan spoke. "I've never seen anything like it before." Liara replied, "Nor have I. Let me do some digging. Glyph. Help me out."

"All right" Shepard said. "What about the rest of the crew?"

"Yeah, what about those slackers?" Joker chuckled as he walked in.

"Nice place you have here, Shepard" Garrus said, walking in, trailed by the rest of the crew. "So you finally made it?" Shepard asked, smiling. "This is great. While we wait for Liara to work out who they are, I can be lazy."

"Everyone, I have something to show you" Liara yelled. The spectre stood up from her bed and made her way down to the asari. The crew crowded around the conference table in the centre. "What did you find, Liara?" James asked.

"A lead. I called in some favours to run a trace on the gun. It led me to a casino owner named Elijah Khan. He's been suspected of using his profits to smuggle weapons onto the citadel. Immediately after the attempt for Shepard's life, Khan made an interesting call." The asari brought up a voice recording and played it immediately. "I'm cutting you off" Khan said.

"What for?" someone replied.

"Turn on a screen! When I sell a gun, I don't want it showing on local news!"

"You won't be linked to me..."

"Save it. Our association is terminated. And if you dare come after me, I've got info on you ready for prime time. Khan out." The recording ended.

"So that's our identity thief" Laura said, folding her arms. "Who are those mercenaries who attacked Shepard?" James asked.

"They're a private military group named CAT6" the broker replied, "they have a history of steroid abuse, violence, other pleasant crimes. Probably hired by the thief, not Khan. Khan probably has a panic room in the casino. EDI could hack the door, but guards and cameras complicate things."

"If Khan spots us, he could dissapear" Brooks spoke. Shepard replied, "she's right. We can't risk spooking him. We go in quiet. Small team. No gunplay."

"Dr T'Soni" Glyph said, appearing from nowhere. "The casino will be hosting a charity event in two hours to assist war refugees."

"Get us tickets, Glyph. Then bring up a layout of the building." A holographic version of the casino appeared. "Score!" Joker exclaimed. "So, how close can we get without setting off any alarm bells?"

"The airshaft bypasses the gate and ends up in storage" EDI replied. "From there, the cameras can be disabled."

"Too convenient" Ashley said. Liara turned to her commander and smiled. "I believe I may have some countermeasures. I'll know more once we're inside."

"Who will go in the shaft?" Wrex asked. "They'll need to be small. No tech. Pure organic."

"I – I'll do it" Brooks replied nervously. "I haven't got any tech in me, so I should be good."

"Great" Liara said. "Now all we need is a guest."

 _August 9st, 2186_

 _0000 hours_

 _Black March Casino, Zakera Ward, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Normandy Crew_

Shepard held her arm out and waited for Liara to lock her arm in the commander's. "Commander. Keep dressing like this, and you'll have to catch me when I swoon" she said cheekily.

"You're too kind" Laura said, adjusting her outfit slightly and beginning the walk down the carpet. They stopped at the end. "How are you so calm?" Maya asked. "I mean, you did just fight under the foot of a reaper being attacked by a thresher maw, so this is no big deal."

"Relax, Brooks."

"Got it."

"I'll get into the ventalation shaft" Brooks said, walking off from Shepard and Liara. "Liara, you have any input?" Laura asked.

"Khan has a lot of surveillance set up. I'd mingle if you want to look normal." The spectre made her way over to the bar and smiled at the tender. "What'll it be?" the bartender asked.

"Nothing too crazy. I want to stay on my feet."

"Asari temple coming up."

"Are asari drinks usually mild?" Shepard asked, waiting to be served.

"Mr. Khan has as put in some gelatine shots. Still asari, but they kick like a shotgun." He looked up and handed Laura the drink. The commander downed the drink and walked away. "Commander, I'm upstairs at the shaft, but there's a problem. Can you meet me?" Brooks said.

Shepard and T'Soni rushed up to the officer and sighed. "What is it?" the commander asked.

"Just like we thought. There's an alarm on the grate."

"Use this" Liara insisted, handing Shepard a lens. She slotted it into her eye. "It helps detect wiring."

"Good" the spectre replied. "I'll follow the wiring to a junction box, splice it and disable the alarm."

"Fingers crossed!" Brooks said enthusiastically.

"Follow the blue wiring" Liara said. The two of them moved across the to other side of the room. "Dammit, there's a camera watching that box." Laura hid behind a wall. "I'm sending you a hacking program to your omni-tool" the asari replied. "It'll only last a few seconds." Shepard raised up her arm and hacked the camera. She rushed over to the junction box and spliced it. "Done" she said.

"Great. I'm opening the grate, and... in we go" Maya replied. "This may take a while. Act casual."

Laura and Liara headed back down. The commander walked over to a group of asari. "Why, hello, love" one said warmly. "Isn't the turnout amazing? I didn't expect anyone would show up. I feel so bad for the humans, though. If you need a place to stay, let me know."

"I have a place to stay, but thanks anyway."

"The humans here are so resilient. What's that phrase: 'Strong in the lips...'?"

"Stiff upper lip" Shepard replied.

"Right, of course. What did I say?" The commander smiled and backed away. Brooks contacted Shepard. "Commander! There's a guard right below me!"

"Don't worry. I'll get his attention." Shepard walked over to the guard and engaged in conversation. "Excuse me. I think I saw someone doing drugs in the women's bathroom."

"I see. Were you able to identify the substance used?"

"Red sand." The guard spoke to 'dispatch', and then looked back to Shepard. "We're fixing it. Appreciate the help." Laura and Liara moved away and contacted Maya. "You're clear, Brooks."

"Thanks, commander. I'll see if I can get into the panic room."

"And I'll get back to blending in. Slow and steady."

After more mingling, Brooks finally contacted Shepard. "There's a pressure pad and sensor in front of me. I can't disable it from here."

"EDI, I need a tech solution. Brooks, stay put."

"Follow the red wiring" Liara said. Shepard rushed over to a camera and disabled it, and then did her work on the junction. "Brooks, try it now."

"I went over the plate. No alarms. Thanks." The spectre made her way to another junction and looked at the guard nearby. "Distract him, Liara." Whilst the asari did so, Laura disabled the camera and then spliced the box.

"I'm at the storage room grate" Brooks said. "Time to hit the lock." Shepard heard screeching over the radio. "Son of a... hey, commander?"

"What? What happened?"

"Infared laser hooked up to a silent alarm. I didn't get it in time!"

"Shepard" EDI began. "I'll call the responding guard to say it was a false alarm, but you must stall him before he reaches Brooks." The commander and the asari jogged over to the guard on their navpoint and stopped him. "Hey!" Laura yelled. The guard sighed impatiently. "Just calm down. I'm trying to do three different things here." His omni-tool buzzed. He answered it. "Barrows?"

"We checked out the alarm in storage. It's nothing. Minor accident."

"Find out who tripped it and get them into by office by the end of shift." The guard stopped the call and looked back up at Shepard. "Now, you. What do you need?"

"Are you with security?" the spectre asked calmly. "I thought you were a friend of mine. You've got the same suit" the commander chuckled.

"You fu... enjoy your evening." As the guard passed her, Laura smiled. "You're clear, Maya."

"Thanks, commander. I'll see if I can get into the panic room." Shepard and T'Soni walked around the corner. Whilst Liara ordered drinks, Laura joined into a conversation. "Hi, Elspeth Murrain. I'm running for Zakera Ward City Council. Are you a citizen here?"

"I've... had bad experience with politicians" Laura said slowly.

"That's why I'm running. I got sick of leaders with ties to Terra Firma, or Cerberus, or worse. The ward needs refugee facilities. It needs security, it needs jobs, it needs everything. And hopefully, with a friend like Elijah Khan backing me, I can make it happen."

"Try it, then. Good luck, I say" Shepard spoke calmly. She rushed around the corner, bringing Liara with her. "Okay, now I just think you need to get to me" Brooks said. "I'm on the other side of the security gate. It might be tricky. Give it your best shot. I believe in you." Laura walked into a room with a camera and two guard; one patrolling, one stationary. "Just splice the box and you can get in" Brooks said.

"I can distract him" Liara assured. "Just tell me when." The spectre ordered Liara to distract the stationary guard. Whilst the moving guard's back was turned, Shepard bypassed the camera and temporarily shut it down. The spectre shut down the other camera, rushed over to the junction box and spliced it.

Brooks let Liara and Laura in. "Khan" Shepard said, spotting the man sitting in the chair. "I'm not here to threaten you. We need to talk." Liara walked over to the chair and revealed that Khan was dead.

"I see this conversation will be strictly one-sided" the asari joked. Brooks quickly checked his computer. "Commander, there's a deletion order on the terminal."

"Dammit!" Laura pushed Maya out of the way and scanned the computer.

"I don't know whether it was the killer, or him – did I screw this up when I tripped the alarm? What are you looking for?!"

"Mistakes." Shepard opened up a brief message on the computer. "Thought so. Whoever did this had to do it fast. They wiped the terminal, but not the comm."

"Maybe we can take it back the safehouse and scan it" Brooks suggested.

"Elijah" a familiar voice exclaimed. "Come crawling back?" Shepard, Brooks and T'Soni turned to look at the screen behind them. "Guess again" the spectre said coldly.

"You. I see you've recovered from flopping on the floor like a fish."

"You'll need to do better than that. The last guy that trash talked me was a few kilometres taller than you."

"Brave. I thought as much, but it won't matter. You have nothing. All you can do is wait for the hammer to fall."

"What is it that you want from me, kid? My money? My accounts? What?"

"I'm going to take everything you have, and everything you are." He quicklu ended the call. "Dammit!" Maya exclaimed. "I didn't have enough time to trace the call."

"We aren't finished" Shepard said, pacing about the room. "Pull out the data drives."

"You think we can find something?" Liara asked.

"With EDI, anything's possible. The sooner we get them to her, the sooner we can track down this threat."


	8. Traitor

_August 9st,_

 _0300 hours_

 _Apartment Block C-2, Residential Sector, Zakera Ward, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Normandy Crew_

"Thank you, Shepard" Liara said. "That was fun. Well, not so much for the host."

"It wasn't a total loss" Laura insisted. "EDI, work with Brooks to see if there's anything useful on those drives."

"Here's hoping" Maya replied. "I'll let you know what we find."

Shepard looked to Joker. "How are you doing?" she asked. Joker smirked. "I could go for some food. Shame that the best sushi place in town was shot to hell." Laura walked through and smiled at Liara. "That wasn't the most glamorous time, was it, commander? Maybe next time we go on a date, perhaps we should just stay in."

"Agreed." The spectre made her way up the stairs and looked at Garrus and Wrex having a chat. Laura made her way down the secondary flight of stairs and met with Brooks and EDI. "Got anything yet?" Laura asked, leaning over the table.

"We have."

"Let's hear it."

"Though the data's root structure was erased, the logic integrity remains viable" EDI spoke, turning to her commander. The crew began to crowd around. "We found an encrypted communication from a few days ago" Brooks said. "Just need another minute to crack it."

"A whole minute?" Joker asked. "EDI could shave that down to five seconds."

"I wanted to allow Staff Analyst Brooks the chance to improve her decryption skills."

"And now you've lost your chance to show off."

"Like she needs it" Brooks responded. "You're legends to the rest of the Alliance."

"It's just part of the job" Laura insisted. Garrus folded his arms and spoke, "'Job'? You mean the rest of you are getting paid for this?"

"Here we go" Brooks said. "Wow. Those mercs who are after you? Yeah, they brought a lot of weapons. Big ones." Maya brought up an image of a mech. "Mechs? What do they need that firepower for?" James exclaimed. Glyph hovered above the hologram. "I have just monitered commander Shepard's spectre access codes aboard the citadel archives. Whoever is hacking it is there right now."

"Bring it up" Shepard commanded. "What do we know about this place?"

"The council keeps really sensitive information there" Garrus said. "Hush-hush. Even my c-sec clearance couldn't get me in."

"Then we'll find out own way in. Gear up and let's..." Shepard turned around, but was stopped by a volus. He nervously held out a flat box. "What's with the volus?"

"Oh. Pizza delivery guy" James admitted. "I got the munchies."

"Double pepperoni" the volus replied.

"These archives are huge, commander. Shame you can't have all of us in there with you."

"Who says we can't?!" Laura exclaimed. "All hands on deck for this one. Who's going to take point with me?"

"Ahem" Wrex coughed.

"Ahem" Garrus coughed.

"Ahem" James coughed.

"Ahem" the pizza guy coughed. "Who's going to pay the bill?"

 _August 9st,_

 _0300 hours_

 _Citadel Archives, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Clan Leader Urdnot Wrex, EDI_

"What's the best what into the archive?" Shepard asked, arching her back and staring and Brooks. "The facility is located below the wards. Maybe a breach for maximum surprise?" The commander smiled and adjusted her glove. "I like the sound of it. Looks like you're learning the ropes."

"Hell" Cortez began. "Hang out with us long enough, and you'll learn the ropes, knives, bombs, thresher maws."

"Don't hang out with us for long" Wrex retorted. "You'll meet some asari."

"I heard that" Liara replied.

All of the crew stepped out of their shuttles and regrouped in the bay. "The archives are somewhere below us" Brooks insisted. "It could be tricky to get in."

"Not really" James responded, quickly handing Maya a bomb.

 _Bang!_ The bomb went off, leaving a large hole of destruction in its path. "Krogan first!" Wrex yelled, leaping through the hole. "See you at the party, princesses!"

The crew jumped through open vents and ran into the hallway. Before anyone could do something drastic, laser aimed at them. "Not this again..." Shepard mumbled.

"Ambush!" Wrex exclaimed.

"Scatter and take cover!" the spectre replied. She ordered EDI over to a display to hide behind. Wrex charged in and took two shots to the ribs before bashing some of the specialists out of the way. "EDI, use a decoy!" Laura shouted. The machine sent out a copy of herself, which ran across the hall, getting shot at from all angles until it burst in holographic shards. "Brooks, you OK?" Laura asked through the radio whilst keeping the troopers busy with biotic warps. "Upstaits!" she replied, "taking cover!" EDI hacked a small crane to swing around and knock a few mercs off of their feet. "Wrex, get behind something!" Shepard yelled. The krogan ignored his commander and charged down the hallway at full speed. The spectre angrily sighed and stayed behind cover, shooting furiously at the light infantry.

Suddenly, a mysterious figure looked over the battlefield, holding Brooks as her prisoner. "Enough!" she yelled. "Stop, or this won't end well for her!" Shepard put down her weapon and looked up. The figure pushed Maya off of the edge. She landed with a hard thud, but she was ok. "Whoever you are" the commander began. "There's nowhere you can go that we can't find you."

"Hide?" she answered. "I'm commander Shepard!" she exclaimed, coming out of the shadows. "I never hide!"

Other Shepard leapt down from her vantage point and walked up to the real commander. "You aren't the only Shepard Cerberus brought back to life, but at least one of us will do something with it!"

"How are you possible?" the real spectre asked.

"I came from you" other Laura said. "I was created for spare parts. In case you needed a new arm, or a lung, or a heart."

"If you're really me, then we're on the same team!" the real Laura said.

"We aren't even in the same league" the other commander retorted coldly. "The illsuive man threw me away when he had what he wanted. You."

"Why kill her?" Wrex asked.

"Because I don't have her memories. I'd never fool my supposed friends into joining the cult of Shepard. Like you, EDI. I'm not sure whether to put a bullet in you or just reroute your power so that you shoot yourself."

"My primary, secondary and tertiary warfare suites have protocols that disable that feature."

"Funny. I'm Shepard without the doubts or failures."

"No-one will ever believe you're the real thing" Wrex spoke.

"I will when I'm flying her ship."

"This is commander Shepard, come in Normandy. Initiate lockdown code B!" the real Laura exclaimed.

"Good idea" the clone replied. "Shame the channels are blocked." He raised his omni-tool and spoke into it. "Traynor, prepare the Normandy. We're leaving. I'm sending the command codes."

"It'll be a cold day in hell before somebody steals my ship" the real Shepard spoke clearly.

"It's not stealing if I'm you" the clone replied. "Execute them."

Once the clone was gone, Shepard picked up a pistol, raised up her arm and shot the model above her, shattering one of the arms. She, Wrex and EDI backed away and watched the glass collapse on the mercs.

"We still got everyone?" Shepard asked, sliding into cover. "We're on the balcony!" Liara shouted. Shepard poked her head over the cover and sent a shockwave to a group of heavy infantry. Wrex smashed through the cover and stampeded around the battleground. "Wrex, fortify your shields!"

"Alright, little ladies, uncle Urdnot is back in town, and he brought the boom!" the krogan yelled before hardening his shield and breaking apart a support. Laura rushed down a corridor, teleported to the end and slammed down, knocking away everybody in a close proximity. "EDI, finish them off!"

Once the area was clear, each group stayed as they were and hurried into the archives after the other Shepard. "Team hammer, go in and do the damage, team chisel, fuck shit up in the hallways. Go!" Laura rushed in and looked for the door to the archives, quickly finding it and entering.

"Big place" Wrex said.

"So, uh... what do you suppose your clone is looking for in here?" Garrus asked.

"Who knows" Shepard replied, moving deeper into the archives. "Glyph, find the target. She looks like me, but isn't me. Get going!" Shepard, Wrex and EDI got onto a lift and moved down into a small chamber. The commander's squad moved her along in the vault. "Check this out, Shepard" Wrex said, picking up a gun from a stand. "Says this gun is from the first contact war. 2157."

"Sweet." The doors opened on the vault, and Glyph hovered behind the spectre. "Commander, the other you is searching for something 200 meters ahead."

"Thanks, Glyph" Shepard said. Her navpoint updated to include the location of the clone. The commander, the krogan and the machine dropped down onto a pod and got into cover as mercs dropped down with them. EDI quickly sorted them out, but more rushed in. "Get around them on the catwalks!" Liara said. "We'll cover you from this side!" As a troopers ran up behind the spectre, she turned around, picked up a pistol from the floor and shot him in the head. She threw the gun away and charged her biotics. Wrex grabbed a crate and flung it at the mercs. Shepard shot off her biotic power to fend off the light infantry. EDI sent out a decoy to distract the troopers whilst Laura pushed them back. "It's working!" James exclaimed. "They're falling back! We're going to move forward! You clean up here!" Shepard and Wrex back up against each other and finished off the troopers whilst EDI helped from the sidelines.

The three of them ran along the catwalk and jumped over the edge. As Shepard watched the rest of her crew in a fight for their lives, she also spotted a sniper sneak up against cover. Laura quickly crushed the female sniper's body and assisted her crew. "Go!" I'll cover you!" she exclaimed, fighting back with her biotics. More mercs ran down the stairs. "This is Shepard! We need -" the spectre was abruptly cut off by the sound of gunfire above her. All of the crew fired back, killing off the troopers in moments. As Laura clambered up the ladder, Wrex smirked and turned to the rest of the crew. "That's why I love hanging out with you guys! Why shoot something once when you can shoot it 46 more times!" Shepard looked around as the other two fireteams left. "My clone can't be far. Let's surround him and then take him down."

As they walked, EDI spoke. "Imagine the history stored here. It must date back thousands of years." Their brief interaction was cut off when more infantry started firing at Shepard and her squad. "This is chisel team!" Garrus yelled through the radio. "Enemies up ahead! We'll try to draw their fire!" Wrex rushed down the corridor and sent a wave of blue and purple destruction surging across the catwalks. Laura quickly followed, flinging objects at the mercs closest to her. She brought down a troopers shields, but before she could bring him down, EDI incinerated him. The other team took out the rest of the mercs quickly. "Hammer and chisel, keep pushing forward!" Shepard, Wrex and EDI rushed down the tunnels, fighting off even more resistance on the way. Glyph led Shepard and her squad through even more fighting and eventually to the clone.

"Over here!" Brooks exclaimed. Shepard and her squad ran down the corridor, but were quickly trapped in a vault. "Damnit! Cortez? Brooks? Is anyone on this frequency?"

"The short answer is no" the clone said, entering the room and smirking. "The long answer involves your friends being trapped in iridium vaults... well, forever."

"Others know about this" the real Laura exclaimed. "About you. The alliance will stop you."

"Staff Analyst Brooks... will the alliance stop me?" Maya walked out casually from behind the fake Shepard and smiled coldly. "I wouldn't know... I don't work for them."

"Oh, f... fuck you. I will end you."

"I would find that threat very damning if commander Shepard made it. But you aren't commander Shepard. Not anymore. You had Miranda, I have Brooks" the clone said harshly. "Mine has more bite."

"It was fun while it lasted."

"I'll be off, saving humans and not aliens now. I should go." Brooks and the clone disappeared out of sight, and the vault moved further into the archives.

"Remind me" Wrex said. "Didn't we used to win these things back in the day."

"She said 'I should go'. Do I sound like that?"

"For as long as I've known you, yeah."

"Shouldn't we be worrying about the vault?" EDI asked.

"How come nobody's told me this before!" Shepard exclaimed, ignoring EDI's comment.

"I just thought it was a human thing. A weird custom, or something."

"Why aren't you more worried about this?!" EDI yelled.

"Oh, yeah. Glyph, you still out there?" The orb hovered outside of the pod. "Yes commander."

"Good. Opened this dammed thing. No-one steals my ship. Not even me."


	9. Clone

_August 9st, 2186_

 _0600 hours_

 _Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Normandy Crew_

"I've got room for Shepard plus two" Joker said from the shuttle as Shepard and the crew got out of the archives. "Figure it out fast, because the other Shepard is stealing my ship."

 _August 9st, 2186_

 _0600 hours_

 _SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian_

"This is why I hate shore leave!" Joker said. "You park the ship for five minutes..."

"Can you contact Citadel flight control and get them to deny the departure request?" Laura asked.

"Tried. All the comms are jammed."

"What if we loose the Normandy? Could we prove who you are?" Liara asked.

"No" Garrus quickly replied. "The clone hacked the biometric logs." Joker landed the shuttle on a landing pad. Any closer, and the citadel defence units would've opened fire. "Go back and get the others, Joker. ASAP." The pilot closed the doors and flew away. Shepard turned back and dodged a spree of bullets. Garrus got into cover and shot half a dozen far away enemies. "Liara, singularity!" Laura called out. The asari set the singularity a dense group of light infantry. The spectre quickly finished them off and moved on with her crew. The Normandy's engines activated. "Damnit!" Shepard and her squad rushed into the Normandy and closed the door behind them.

"And I didn't even... wait, what?" Traynor asked as Laura, Liara and Garrus ran in. "You were just on the Normandy! And... you fired me! You kicked me off the ship with barely enough time to grab my toothbrush!"

"I know. That wasn't me. It was a clone. Long story. For now..." Laura walked over to Garrus and Liara at the door. It was locked. "It's sealed!" Shepard exclaimed. "Is there anyone else on board who can help us?" she asked.

"No. I was only on the Normandy for retrofits. Everybody else is on shore leave!"

"Okay. You know this ship inside and out, Traynor. Can you get me inside?"

"There's an emergency exit hatch for evacuations. It should be right... here!" The spectre scanned the panel, but couldn't get in. "Manual lock. Any other ideas?"

"We need something that produces intensely fine tuned mass-relay fields" Liara said. Then, Traynor had a brainwave.

"If you'd told me this morning that a toothbrush was going to save the Normandy, I'd be sceptical" Laura said, climbing through the vent, quickly followed by Liara, Garrus and Samantha.

 _August 9st, 2186_

 _0600 hours_

 _CIC Deck, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard v.2, Staff Analyst 'Maya Brooks'_

The clone stood by the galaxy map, accompanied by Brooks. "Ma'am" one of the soldiers said."Just before takeoff, Normandy registered a perimiter access alert. One of the security hatches."

"Her. Where?"

"Dunno. When we shut off the AI, we disabled a lot of security systems. Shepard could be anywhere on this ship."

"Shepard is standing right in front of you!" she yelled.

"It's better this way" Brooks insisted. "Wouldn't you like to take her down by yourself?" The fake Shepard walked into the elevator with Brooks and faced the guard. "Armoury. Find her. Slow her down."

 _August 9st, 2186_

 _0600 hours_

 _SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian

"What do they size this thing for, keepers?" Garrus asked angrily as the three of them crawled through the grates. Shepard got to the end and opened up the stairs. "They're here!" one trooper yelled before quickly being killed. Garrus threw a grenade down the hallway. Liara sent a shockwave down the other hallway. Laura charged her biotics and wiped out the mercs on the CIC deck. "Easy. Let's take the elevator." Shepard looked to a bin by the side of the elevator. "'Please send this animal to a proper disposal unit as a warship is not a-' Oh, that is not okay!" The three of them moved into the elevator. It was going to be a slow ride.

"So... anyone want to talk about their peoples history?" Garrus asked.

"No" the asari quickly retorted.

"So I'm the only one who misses that chats we had in the elevators on the citadel?"

"Yes." The elevator got to the destination, and the doors opened. The real Shepard looked for the clone. She eventually stepped out. The two shot at each other for a while. The real Laura looked around for the fake one. The clone swung her bioticly charged fist, but the real spectre ducked underneath the right hook and countered with an uppercut. Maya ran in and swung, but Shepard dodged to the side, grabbed her fist and threw her to the ground. The clone tried to slam down, but the real Shepard pushed her away with biotics. Brooks tried to get back up, but the real commander flung her to the end of the bay. The clone quickly flicked her ankle, but Shepard jumped over it and hit her clone in the face. In retaliation, the fake Laura hit the real one in the temple with the left, and smashed her nose down with the right. Laura weakly brought her knee up and smashed it into the clones ribs. She staggered backwards and cowered behind a crate. "Commander, do you copy?" Cortez asked.

"I do. You managed to get through the comm jammer?"

"We did. It got hot, but we did. We've got a plan to ground the Normandy."

The pilot of the ship shot at Joker and Cortez's sky car, but he kept missing. "Keep ducking and diving!" Joker exclaimed.

The clone got in contact with the pilot. "Why aren't we in FTL travel yet?"

"The skycar's blocking the way, and it keeps dodging my shots!"

"Then send out the shuttle!"

The cargo bay door opened, releasing the alliance shuttle. Maya fell out of the open doorway. "Brooks!" clone Shepard yelled. Whilst she was distracted, real Laura leapt over the console, ran up to the clone and slammed her onto the ground. She held her down and began hitting her face. The clone pushed the real commander away with her biotics, but the real Laura fought back, putting in an equal amount of biotics. Their powers met in the middle, and they struggled to push against each other, but the real Shepard eventually won, knocking the clone off balance.

The real spectre ran towards the clone and tackled her to the ground. The rolled down the door. When they stopped, Laura proceeded to beat clone Shepard's face against the hard metal. Using her might, the clone kicked the real Laura away. The both tumbled along the door and loosely grabbed onto the edge. "Hang on!" Garrus yelled. The two of them slowly made their way to the real Shepard. "What makes you so damn special?!" the clone screamed. Garrus pulled his commander up. "What about her?" he asked, referencing the clone. The real commander looked to the clone and sighed. She rushed over to her and reached out her hand. "Take my hand."

"And then what?"

"Then you live!" the real Shepard exclaimed.

"...There's nothing for me here..." the clone let herself fall.

"So, is it damaged?" Shepard asked.

"James might need to help me clean up the bay" Cortez said. "That's it."

"And the mercs? Any survivors?"

"Just a crappy pilot. But he's dealt with."

"Thanks, Joker" Laura said.

"Don't thank me. Thank shuttle boy over there. He did some crazy stunts to keep us in one piece." Cortez smirked and turned around to look at his commander. "I'm just happy we're here."

O0o

"The rest of the squad's waiting outside" Cortez said. The shuttle bay door opened to a crowd of squad mates. "Thanks." Shepard stepped out, followed by the asari and the turian. "Well, as far as shore leaves go, this hasn't been the most relaxing" Liara said jokingly.

"Maybe we can have some actual time off, now. No explosions. Just us."


	10. Party

_August 9st, 2186_

 _0730 hours_

 _Apartment Block C-2, Residential Sector, Zakera Ward, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Gunnery Pilot Jeff Moreau_

"So, about this party..." Joker said as he walked in. "Party?!" Shepard exclaimed. "I'm tired! I need a nap!"

"Well, I gotta get going" Wrex said. "Things to settle before I head back to Tuchanka. Always fires to put out when I'm in charge, right? Let me know if you want to hang out or if you're having that party." Wrex slowly left the room.

"See ya!" Joker replied. "Now, there's no rush to set up this party. Although, I did just invite EDI, Cortez and Traynor. Glyph told Liara about it as well."

"Aren't I allowed to send out the invites?"

"Well, these things can un-invite. And Cortez just invited James..."

"Fine" Laura chuckled.

"I'm off to see how much trouble I can cause without snapping a femur" Joker said. Shepard sat down on the stool. Glyph hovered in front of her. "Members of your crew have expressed spending time with you, commander. You can check those messages at your private terminal." As the droid dispursed, Laura made her way up to the private terminal and read through the slew of messages. She invited Liara up.

The spectre walked into the bathroom to wash her face to make herself seem less tired. All of a sudden, she heard a soft tune coming from the piano. Laura made her way out into the hall and saw her azure-toned lover playing a sweet song. She tried to sneak up on her, but Glyph greeted the commander. "Shepard..." Liara breathed, turning her head. Laura smiled. "I didn't know you could play."

"Actually, this is the only song I know." T'Soni lightly brushed her fingertips along the keys and then began playing again. "Why's that?" Shepard asked calmly, focusing on both the song and Liara. "There was always something more important to do" the asari replied. "a ruin to uncover, intel to gather. A commander to save..."

"Funny. You just couldn't sit still."

"Huh" Liara chuckled. "On one of my digs, a storm swept in. We were trapped for hours. I just wanted to get back to work. My friend on the site always carried around a small piano. Whenever the people got restless, she played this song to calm them. Eventually, she saw I needed something to keep me occupied, so she taught me how to play." Shepard smiled at Liara as she walked around the apartment, up the stairs. "If only the shadow broker had somewhere as cosy as this" she said. Laura followed her up and she walked into the bedroom. "And a bed. Big enough for two. Does it get lonely?" Liara asked. She looked down nervously. "I..." Laura grabbed the asari's hand softly and rested it in her own. "This is fun. We should do this more often..."

"Yes, well... maybe after..."

"Everyday after." Liara chuckled warmly and looked up at her bondmate. "You never answered me; does it get lonely in that bed?"

"I've hardly had a chance to break it in." Shepard smiled as she had the same thought Liara did.

The asari and the human giggled together as Shepard lifted her lover in her arms and carried her all the way to the bedroom. She planted the broker down softly on the velvet sheets. She leaned down and nipped at T'Soni's collarbone. The asari audibly groaned as her lover pinned her wrists to the bed and slowly with one hand undid the shackles of the white and blue uniform.

Liara wriggled about under the sheets, pulling them up to her neck. "It feels like an eternity since we've just relaxed like... this." Laura chuckled and looked to Liara. "It does" the spectre confirmed, brushing a long thin line of hair out of her face. "I've been thinking a lot about you recently" Shepard revealed. Liara smirked. "Oh, really?" she asked, rolling over to look at her lover. "What about?"

"About what we'll do after the war" Laura continued. "Where should we live?" she asked. Liara rolled back over and thought about it. "I'm not sure. I suppose I've just been focused on the here and now. There's a nice planet I visited on one of my digs a few years ago. It was very cold and icy, but it was a nice house in an apartment complex, next to a frozen lake."

"I was thinking of Earth, but we won't be able to live there for a while. This apartment is nice" Shepard replied. "What about family? Have you thought about continuing the Shepard legacy?" she asked jokingly. T'Soni smiled and looked to the commander. "Correction: T'Soni-Shepard legacy."

"You're okay with changing your name?" the spectre asked, pulling the sheets over her collarbone. "I am" Liara replied quickly. "I want kids, as well."

"How many?"

"Two, maybe more. I'd like twins."

"What would you name them?" Shepard asked curiously. Liara thought about the names for a moment before answering the question. "I would name the first one Lylia, and the second one Loria, after you."

"Sounds great" Laura assured. "Two kids with married parents; all of them living in a huge apartment by an icy lake."

"I'll hold you to that" Liara retorted cheekily. The room fell dormant for a moment, no noise, not even of rustling sheets. "Shepard?" Liara softly said. The commander smiled warmly and looked to the asari. "Yeah?" she replied, equally as quietly. "Is it OK if I sleep here?" Liara asked. "I haven't had much sleep, two hours in the last day."

"That's fine" Shepard replied kindly. "I haven't had any sleep in a long time, so I'm really tired. Let's just relax here for today."

 _August 12st, 2186_

 _2100 hours_

 _Apartment Block C-2, Residential Sector, Zakera Ward, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Normandy Crew_

After a few days of relaxing with the Normandy crew, Shepard decided to finally throw the party Joker had been speaking about at length for the past couple of days.

Shepard walked over to Glyph. "Hey, Glyph" she exclaimed. The hovering bot turned around. "Greetings, commander. How can I be of service?"

"Invite everyone of my crew, including the people they invited."

"I see. What type of party would you like to throw tonight, commander? I could set things up for a quiet evening, or set things up for an energetic occasion."

"Energetic. I think it's time people blew off some steam."

"Excellent choice, commander. Allow me to cue up a series of popular nightclub tracks and drink lists. I will also modify my appearance to be more festive."

Shepard put on her best dress and invited everyone in. She closed the door and made her way over to the fireplace. She sat down on the sofa. "Hey, Shepard" Jack said. "You gonna have a drink?"

"Sure" Laura replied, grabbing a full glass from the table. "How's everybody doing?"

"Ask me after five more of these" Jack said, down her drink. "I think we all need a rest."

"Here's to us" Steve said, raising his glass. Everyone else raised theirs and smiled. As someone buzzed the door, Shepard got up and answered it. It was Ashley. "Ash! You made it!"

"That I did, Shepard!" the lieutenant commander exclaimed, walking in.

Laura smirked and made her way over to Liara. "I still can't get over the size of this apartment!" Traynor said happily. "The electric bills alone could pay for my college tuition." Laura leaned against the bar. "So, Shepard, you can serve this swill, but can you drink it?"

"Is that a challenge, Vakarian?" Laura asked jokingly.

"It might be" the turian replied cheekily.

"Okay then, Garrus. Be ready at all times." Laura walked over to Glyph and burst into laughter once she saw his holographic bow tie. "Oh... ha, that is great."

"Your guests appear to be getting rowdy, commander" the orb said when the spectre stopped giggling. "Would you like me to change the intensity of the atmosphere?"

"The party's just getting started!" Shepard replied. "Turn it up a notch."

"As you wish, commander."

The spectre made her way into the secondary bar and looked at Joker as he spoke. "Worst planet to get shot down over? We're talking pre-war?" he asked.

"Pre-war. Life bearing worlds only."

"Ooh, OK. Easy. Pluto. You'd freeze to death in a day. What about you, Shepard? What do _you_ think is the worst planet to get shot down over?"

"Tuchunka. The whole things a wasteland. No offence, Wrex."

"None taken. You're right. Talking about that, have you managed to find a homeworld for the Krogan yet?"

"Still looking. Get the council to help" the spectre said.

Laura walked up to the second floor and met with Traynor and EDI. "What's wrong, you two?" the commander asked.

"I was asking Specialist Traynor why she found my voice sexually attractive. One one occasion, you stated that you wanted to, quote, pin my voice against the wall and run your tongue along its collarbone."

"I was just joking" Samantha said. "You know, stress of the retrofits..."

"Really? My diagnostics suggested you were genuinely aroused."

"Cerberus programmed you to check body language?"

"My systems operate better when tested pupil dilation and erogenous zones."

"Oh, good lord."

"I was very interested in Traynor's ability to develop sexual feelings for what was, at the time, a bodiless voice."

"I hate everyone."

Shepard made her way out onto the balcony. "I'm not saying biotics aren't impressive! I'm just saying... aw, shit...!" James muttered.

"What are you trying to say, James?" Ashley asked, swirling her drink around.

"I'm saying that... look at these guns!" Vega flexed his muscles. "Biotics can't give you this kind of fine instrument, the peak physical fo – woah!" Laura easily lifted the soldier up with her biotics. "Impressive?" the spectre asked, the guests around her chuckling. "Impressive..." James admitted.

"Your guests seem to be enjoying themselves" Glyph said. "What should I do now?" Laura smirked devilishly.

"Turn up the music and let people dance!"

"Very good, commander. I have had very little opportunity to use my bounce and spin functionality."

"Jeff..." EDI said as Shepard sat down. "Yes, EDI?"

"At events such as this, it is customary for one partner to dance with another. Will you dance with me, Jeff?"

"No. I'll just sit here and enjoy my drink."

"Jeff..."

"Come on, Joker. Dance with her. It could be fun."

"So is drinking."

"Glyph is on standby..."

"Hell, no! I'm not letting a robot take my lady!" The pilot got up and began dancing.

The commander walked into the living room, where Joker and EDI were still dancing. "Hey everyone! Come here for a second! I want to take a photo, to remember this by!"

"Great idea!" Liara exclaimed.

"Turian model coming through!" Garrus yelled, leaping over the sofa. "Glyph, come here" Laura said.

"Of course, commander. If you could all look this way and align yourselves on the sofa."

"Alright, people" Laura began. "Everyone say 'Normandy'."

 _Normandy..._

 _August 13st, 2186_

 _0800 hours_

 _Apartment Block C-2, Residential Sector, Zakera Ward, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni_

"Oof" Shepard said, feeling her head with one hand. "What a night... but look who's here."

"Ugh" Liara groaned uncomfortably. "Is it... morning already?"

"Let's see if anyone else is up." Laura hurried out to the living room and looked at Garrus. "Did we break anything, last night? I don't suppose anything needs... calibrating" he said. Shepard raised her brow. "Alright, I'll stop saying that word, but only if Liara stops saying 'by the goddess'" Vakarian replied in a high voice. The spectre walked into the gym and saw Jack. "Hey, Shepard. You look like shit. You know the best thing about biotic amps? No hangovers!"

Shepard made her way into the kitchen and took some of James' eggs and had some tea with it. She then rushed upstairs and had a quick shower before heading back to the Normandy.

"It's been a hell of a week, hasn't it?" Liara asked as her and Shepard relaxed in the docking bay. "It definitely has. I just wish some people could have been there to see it."


	11. Tali

_August 15st, 2186_

 _1100 hours_

 _SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Second Morning War, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard_

Shepard had arranged to meet with the quarian fleet to discuss the war. Raan made her way into the war room. "Commander" she said, "pleasure to see you, though I wish it were under better circumstances." Laura nervously rubbed the back of her neck with her thumb and forefinger. "You aren't the only ones." She rested her arms at her side. "I was hoping to talk about the war with you. What's going on?" Admiral Gerrel stepped forward, breathing heavily as though he had been running. "Seventeen days ago, along with the assistance of several precision strikes, we began to long war to take back our homeworld; we've dubbed it the second morning war."

"Which was a breach of our contract with the council promising not to provoke the geth" another quarian said hastily.

"A treaty violation is nothing compared to retaking our homeworld!" Xen retorted impatiently. Raan asked, "what is your take on this situation, commander?"

"I think it's moronic" the human replied harshly. "You're throwing yourselves at the geth, even when there's an even bigger devastation on the horizon?"

"And this time, we may have doomed our people for good" Korris said painfully. Gerrel raised his arm and brought up a hologram of system on the war room map. "We've driven the geth backto the home system when this signal began broadcasting to all geth."

"The reapers. This is stupid!" the spectre exclaimed.

"Making the geth sentient was a mistake" Xen replied.

"And trying to get rid of them was murder!"

"Under reaper control" Gerrel continued, cutting off the brief scuffle, "the geth are significantly more effective. Our fleet has been pinned in the home system. If we want to win -"

"Win?" Koris lashed, "you insisted on involving civilian ships! We need to retreat or we'll lose the liveships!"

"Where is the signal coming from?" Shepard asked calmly, leaning over the barrier. Gerrel brought up a map of a huge geth ship. "A geth dreadnought. It can gun down anything we have in seconds, and it's been heavily fortified." Laura thought for a moment, and then looked between the four quarians. "The normandy's stealth drives could get us aboard. I could dock, then disable the reaper command signal from the inside."

"Yes" Xen replied, holding her hand up to her mouthpiece inquisitively. "Cutting off the signal should throw the geth around for a while."

"Giving you time to retreat" Laura said, looking between the quarians. Koris nodded subtly. "Good. Our civilian ships have seen too much fighting; they're too weak. Commander, are you sure you can disable the signal?"

"We'll get you out of there safely, admiral" the spectre replied quickly. Raan smiled from behind her visor and looked at the door behind her. "Our newest admiral has also volunteered to offer technical expertise. The door opened, and a familiar quarian walked through, donning a midnight black armour set with a light purple hood and golden neck piece. "Reporting for duty, admiral Raan" Tali said in her familiarly warm voice. Shepard couldn't help smiling. "It's good to have you, Tali. I'll rally the team."

Tali and Laura walked into the meeting room. "So, it's admiral now?" Shepard asked calmly. Tali smirked and looked to her old commander. "It's mostly a formality. I'm an expert on the geth, and I'm perfect for this."

"I guess preventing your exile really did help."

"It did" the quarian said, walking over and staring out of the window. "I'm just... I'm glad you came" Tali choked regretfully.

"If I'd known it was this bad, I would have come sooner" the commander assured her. Tali sighed, but didn't look back. "You had your own issues to tend to. I'm sorry about Earth."

"It's fine. It's just... seeing the planet fine one second and then torn to shreds the next – the reapers are powerful."

"We have the largest fleet in the galaxy" the admiral boasted proudly, "If you help us, we'll hit the reapers with everything we have after the godforsaken war is over."

"You aren't in support of the invasion?" Shepard asked surprisingly.

"I'm not" Tali replied quickly. "After talking to Legion, I thought there was a chance for peace. But I'm an admiral, a public figure people look to for guidance. If I were to cause a divide..."

"We'll get your people out of there safely, Tali" Laura said warmly.

"Thanks, Shepard. And just so you know, let's keep things strictly business in front of the admirals. If you want to catch up, we'll talk somewhere private."

"I'd like that."

 _August 15st, 2186_

 _1200 hours_

 _SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Second Morning War, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Fleet Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian_

Joker brushed through the readings on his interface. "It's a mess out there, Shepard."

"I have detected several hundred unique ship patterns engaged in active combat" EDI interrupted.

"Take us in" Shepard said. Joker cracked his knuckles and did his best to get into the situation.

Ships were exploding all around, both quarian and geth. The Normandy dodged the cannon fire and made their way to the docks.

Laura, Garrus and Tali walked into the docking bay on the Normandy. "Alright. Tali will be the tech expert. Garrus, you can be cannon fodder with me."

"Commander, we have a problem" Jeff exclaimed through the comms.

"I detect only one working port on the dreadnought. It is severely damaged, but it is manoeuvrable." Shepard paced back and fourth, trying to think of a solution. "It's too risky for the whole team to cross. I'll go in there myself, then you and Tali can follow me over."

"Roger that, commander" Joker replied.

"Hang tight. It'll just be a minute."

O0o

As Laura slowly traversed down the tube, she looked out and saw the dreadnought. "No wonder the quarians were having trouble. That ship is enormous."

"It is 30% bigger than an alliance dreadnought" EDI replied. Shepard looked out the other side of the tube and stared at Rannoch. "Tali, you're gonna enjoy the view."

"Is it better than the vids?" she asked. The spectre smiled underneath her mask. "Much." As Shepard reached the entrance, the tube broke off from behind her. She almost fell off, reminding her of her death about the original Normandy. "Dammit. The team won't be able to use the tube" Shepard said.

"So, I'm guessing you'd rather not solo the dreadnought."

"No, I wouldn't. Ask Tali to review the schematics of the ship."

"I'm inside; I have gravity again" Laura said as she entered the dreadnought.

"Great" the quarian responded, "I'm looking for... got it. There should be a hull breach not far from you. The docking tube should be there."

"I think I found that hull breach you mentioned" Shepard said as she traversed the curved metal. "Admiral Gerrel attempted a frontal assault. We lost half a dozen ships, and all for that small hole." Shepard found her way into a clearing and climbed up the ladder. She made her way to the unlocked door and waited for it to open. Once it did, she rushed into the room, climbed up the second ladder and activated the docking bay controls.

"You're clear to board." Tali and Garrus walked calmly into the bay. "Seen any action?" the turian asked. Laura shook her head briefly. "No. Looks like they haven't detected us yet." The marksman and the enginner made their way up to Shepard's level. "I'll see if I can get this open." Tali fiddled with the controls; the door eventually opened. "Alright. Come on." Tali followed Garrus and Shepard into the elevator.

"So where are we headed?" Shepard asked, breathing slowly. Tali examined the space they were in. "We're looking for an operations center. I can disable the signal from there."

"Where's the nearest one?" Vakarian asked.

"Past their defence network and through a sensor cluster. But don't worry, Garrus. You can make it" Tali said, smiling underneath her cold visor.

"Gah, vents. Always the vents" Tali said, looking at the moving architecture. Shepard huffed. "You did fine on the collector base."

"I was set on fire!" the quarian exclaimed. Garrus turned to look at a set of guns. "GARDIAN rifles; looks like they're using focused ultra-violet light to give them an edge."

"When Admiral Gerrel assaulted the dreadnought, those lasers tore through a dozen of our ships." The three of them made their way to the bridge controls on the other side and watched the bridge materialize.

Two geth troopers on the other side walked along, their weaponry primed. One of them turned to stare at the commander, the engineer and the marskman. "Watch out!" Tali exclaimed, scrambling into cover. Shepard crouched behind a large metal chunk and commanded Garrus to do the same. The quarian peeked over, charged her pistol and took the shot, clipping one of the troopers in the shoulder. Garrus picked them off and gasped as more came rushing down. "More on the way!" The three of them ran over to the other side and took cover. Shepard quickly looked over the chest high wall and sent a shockwave down the hallway. Several geth troopers began to fire at her, so Laura ducked back down. Tali switched to her shotgun and picked off most of the geth units. The spectre quickly took out the rest of them and walked with her team.

The three of them hurried down the ladder. Laura got down and crawled up to an idle geth unit. She reached up, flared her biotics and snapped the trooper's cables. She tossed him aside and ducked behind something. "They're throwing their lives away!" the commander yelled. Tali swapped back to her pistol and blindly fired. "Networked intellegence! As we kill them, their attacks become more aggressive!" Garrus overloaded several troopers, trapping them in place. Shepard popped warps along the floor, knocking those geth down whilst the quarian picked them off one by one.

Shepard, Tali and Garrus sprinted down the catwalk and through two open doors. They slowed down. "Look" Shepard said, staring at a signal. "That signal is universal. The reapers have the geth under complete control."

"We've tried everything we could; hacking it, overriding it, even piggybacking off of garbage data to corrupt it. Nothing worked. The geth are well equipped, too. They have a planetary defence cannon. It's ripping through our fleet." Shepard and her squad opened the door in front of them. "The dreadnought's command centre should be just through here" Tali said briefly. In the moment the door opened, the geth in the room turned and fired. "Dammit!" the spectre exclaimed, bringing up a biotic barrier. The protection was quickly destroyed, but it gave time for the three of them to get into cover. "Hunter's approaching!" Garrus exclaimed as he saw one trooper activate a camo. Shepard quickly peeked over her cover and teleported to the console. She slammed down and blasted away any nearby geth. "Tali, sabotage one of the geth's systems! Garrus, activate your incendiary ammo." The squad did as they were asked of; Tali hacked one trooper and helped it take out most of the other geth. Garrus equipped his special ammunition and picked off the remaining foes.

The quarian and turian joined their commander by the console as a hologram of the dreadnought appeared in front of them. "Dammit!" Tali exclaimed unhappily. "They've locked down the signal, it's impossible to shut it down from here." A small part of the hologram lit up in vibrant red. "There!" the engineer gleamed. "The reaper signal's coming from the drive core!"

"So, if we get there, we shut it down?" Shepard asked.

"Right" Tali quickly replied. "But how do we get in there? The geth have sealed off most of the exits to block us off. We need a path that runs the length of the ships."

"What about the drive core?" the commander asked.

"That could work, but we'd need to get these doors open first. Something basic... like a fire!"

"What about the heat diffusion system?"

"Yes! If I faked a thermal warning, the maintenance tubes would open for emergency venting. It would override the lockdown; okay, I have it primed." Tali activated the false signal, opening the doors in the room. "Let's get to the maintenance shaft!"

Laura and her team made their way through the halls to the main battery. "I'm surprised they sent you on this mission, Tali" Shepard said as they walked.

"Even admirals are expected to serve. I'm much better at hacking than I am commanding a fleet."

"Yeah, against an enemy dreadnought, your combat drone would just float there making... noise."

"I missed you too, Garrus."

"Dammit!" Tali yelped. "Fleet wide high priority message. The planetary defence cannon took down admiral Korris' ship! Admiral Raan is trying to establish a secure link."

"Patch her in."

"Commander, this is Raan. The heavy fleet is collapsing, I don't know how much longer we can hold out."

"We're about to disable the signal." The three of them made their way into the drive core. Inside was a large clustered structure. "That's definitely reaper tech" Tali said, moving up to the panel, "but what..." As she fiddled with the console, the structure slowly opened, revealing a geth trooper. Noticing the N7 shoulder plate, Shepard knew immediately that it was Legion. "Shepard-Commander, help us!"

"Good to see you, Legion" Garrus said. "We'll have you out of there in no-time."

"Wait!" Tali exclaimed. "This is the source of the signal. For all we know, Legion could be with them. It could have been hacked, or it could have even volunteered."

"There's no way Legion would betray us; it helped us fight the reapers."

"Your caution is understandable" Legion buzzed. "Once freed, we will submit ourselves to any restraints you deem needed."

"Nice. So, what is this thing?" Shepard asked curiously, yet impatiently.

"It uses our networking architecture to broadcast the old machine command signal to all geth simultaneously."

"There has to be a catch."

"You cannot simply unshackle us. We have been contained via hardware blocks. Disable them at the terminals." Shepard, Tali and Vakarian rushed over to the far side of the room and released Legion. "Tali'Zorah to fleet" the quarian said. "The signal is about to go offline."

"This is admiral Han'Gerrel. We are in your debt." Legion was unplugged from the machine. He was transported onto a lower level. "You okay, Legion?" Shepard shouted.

"As a gesture of co-operation, we have disabled the drive core; all primary weapons and suites are offline." A rustling in the tubes made the four of them turn their heads in unison. "Alert! Geth forces incoming!"

Tali, Laura and Garrus got behind cover. "They're setting up turrets!" Shepard exclaimed. "Tali, overload their systems."

"I'll try my best!" the engineer replied. Whilst she was doing that, Garrus reloaded his rifle and drew the geth's attention away from Tali. As the commander and the marskman were attacking, a prime clambered over a collection of crates. "A prime, be careful!" Shepard yelled, moving to a vantage point. Garrus kept the prime away from them whilst Shepard prepared her biotics. She pulled out a knife, jumped over the cover with help from a biotic boost and landed on the prime's back. Whilst Tali and Garrus (with the assistance of hacked troopers) picked off the bulk of the force, Shepard focused on the giant, violently piercing it's thick metal armour with her blade. Finally, it threw the spectre off and raised it's arms to slam down. Laura forged a quick biotic barrier and pushed the prime against a wall. The commander hastily got to her feet and impaled the beast several times. It eventually collapsed, void of life.

Garrus and Tali picked off the rest and followed their commander over to Legion. "Admiral Raan to fleet, give them a firing lane" the quarian said over the radio. The spectre and her squad regrouped with Legion. "All ships, open fire!" Gerrel exclaimed. An explosion knocked Shepard off balance, and moved the friendly geth down a level. "Shepard-Commander, the creator fleet is firing upon this vessel. We must retreat." Legion ran to the bay, and Shepard had the same idea.

As the three of them ran, Tali tried to contact the fleet. Explosion went off all around them, destroyed their surroundings. "Go!" Laura exclaimed, racing to a geth fighter. Legion, Shepard, Tali and Vakarian scrambled into the vehicle and updated the Normandy with a rendezvous point.

 _August 15st, 2186_

 _1200 hours_

 _SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Second Morning War, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Fleet Admirals_

"Gerrel!" Shepard screamed furiously as she entered the war room. "Your strike endangered us all" Raan said, equally as furious. "I should charge you with treason."

"I was in my authority as admiral of the heavy fleet!" he retorted quickly.

"Fuck your authority!" the commander exclaimed, clenching her fist and slamming it into Gerrel's ribs. "Get the hell of my ship" she breathed. Gerrel grumbled and slumped away lazily. "Commander, that may have been a bit harsh" Raan said softly.

"You said the geth had a planetary defence cannon?" Shepard asked, ignoring the admiral's comment. "Had. Korris sacrificed his ship. You didn't respond to my comment..."

"I'll send a team out to rescue admiral Korris" the commander said, once again ignoring Raan. Legion walked in calmly. "Shepard-Commander" he buzzed. "We are ready to offer assistance."

"What the hell is this?!" Raan exclaimed.

"Wait, wait" Shepard said. "Everyone calm down. It's name is Legion. It helped me destroy the reapers. The reapers were using Legion as a type of signal booster to broadcast commands across the concenssious."

"This is a fascinating prototype" Raan said. "With some further studies, I can find a weakness in the core geth programming."

"No, admiral. It's my friend. No tests." Raan took a deep breath under her mask and looked to Legion. "What can you tell us about the geth? How will they react with reaper influence?"

"This is a false assumption" the geth unit replied bleakly. "You have cut off long-range control, but the old machines placed a base on Rannoch for short-range direction."

"The geth still have the upgrades?" Raan replied nervously.

"Correct. They are currently disorganized, but once the short-range signal is in place, they will recover."

"Keelah" Raan muttered. "Xen, warn the fleet!" Shepard looked at Xen, and then back to Legion. "Where's this short-range connection coming from?"

"Unknown."

"Find it!" Tali exclaimed.

"Understood. We do know the location of a server from which geth fighter squadrons are controlled. The squadrons are targeting creator liveships. Disabling them will severely limit casualties. We offer assistance" Legion repeated."

A scrambled call came through, barely audible. "EDI, can you clear this chatter up?" the spectre asked.

"I will try." Within a moment, the message was cleared. "This is the Konesh! We've lost barriers. Our systems are jammed – can anyone hear this?" Shepard warned the quarian. She smiled as Raan protected the ship.


	12. Legion

**A/N: Once again, every side mission within ME3 was completed by my Shepard, but not written, in the interest of time.**

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

A darkly familiar forest was revealed through the clouds of Shepard's unconscious mind. A light giggle was heard. Shepard faced the source of the sudden outburst and followed the sound as it moved. Eventually, the noise stopped, and the commander slowly walked toward where it had gone silent. She found the same boy in her last nightmare, the same one that was obliterated on Earth; the one she didn't save.

The whole forest floor turned a vibrant red hue. The child cupped his hands over his ears, dropped his toy and ran away. Shepard quickly followed after him. All around her were voices, whispers. She caught up with the little boy, but he ran away again. The spectre sprinted after him. The child stopped at a point and turned to look at his peruser, his face portraying a cold, dead look. From behind, the mysterious cerberus general faded in, grabbed the little boy around the neck, held him up and snapped his spine. She dropped his corpse, reached up and removed her helmet. Underneath was a barrage of spitting fire, unkempt, and devoid of any pity or sorrow.

 _August 16st, 2186_

 _0700 hours_

 _Commander's Cabin, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Second Morning War, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard_

As beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, Laura sat up and screamed. Liara quickly ran into the cabin. "What is it, Shepard? What's wrong?!" she exclaimed. The spectre looked in bewilderment at the asari. Breathing and sweating heavily, she choked out her words. "It... it—was just a nightmare... why are you here?"

"I was waiting outside of your cabin. You weren't answering."

"Do you need something?" Laura asked uncomftorbally.

"I came here with a message; they've found the reaper base on Rannoch." Shepard subtly nodded and rubbed the back of her neck. "Okay, alright... I'll be down in just a minute." Liara scowled, but with a friendly and warm undertone. "You don't look great" she said, raising her hand and gently pressing two fingers over her lover's forehead. "And you're burning up. Are you sure you're up for this?"

"Y—yeah... I'm... fine, just fine. I'll be down there as soon as I can." Liara nodded and stood up. "Okay, if you say so." The asari smiled uncertainly and left the room. Shepard laid back down for a moment to catch her breath. Brief visions of her dream kept appearing in her mind; the child, the forest, the whispers. The commander shook her head and laid there for a second in complete silence. "Water" she said finally, "I need to hit water."

She got up, paced over to the small bathroom and set the settings on the shower; she set the speed, the pattern of the water and where it spouted from.

Laura grabbed the bag by the sink, crouched down beside it and ruffled through it. She pulled an N7 hoodie and some skinny jeans. She put the clothes over the side of the tub, kicked the bag against the wall and peeled off her sweat-laden clothes from the day before. She turned on the shower and stepped into the stream of water. As the tepid water hit her face and cascaded down her body, Shepard began to focus on the here and now, and not on her dream.

Once the spectre got out of the shower, she crouched down beside the bag again and pulled out matching black underwear. She put them both, grabbed her jeans and pulled them up her legs. Squatting down beside the sink, Shepard grabbed her shoes and put them on. She took her hoodie from over the tub and put it on. She zipped it up, took a deep breath, and calmly made her way down to the war room.

 _August 16st, 2186_

 _0730 hours_

 _War Room, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Second Morning War, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Fleet Admirals, Legion_

"Commander" admiral Raan started confidently, "we've located the Reaper base transmitting the local signal."

"Liara told me."

"Good" the admiral replied. "And not a moment too soon. With those upgrades, the geth are tearing our fleets to shreds."

"Correct. When the signal is disabled, the geth will pose no threat to the creator forces." Laura looked to Legion in puzzlement. "You sound conflicted" she said. The friendly geth opened up a diagram on the war room terminal. "While the old machines propose unethical results, their code allows us efficiency."

"That's one geth unit, I believe" Raan replied, referencing the hologram.

"Correct. Now, ten geth units running at once." The pulsating glow from the inside of the hologram grew a lot faster. "Now a single geth unit with old machine upgrades." The hologram turned red, and it had some sort of root in the centre. "That's a fully evolved AI" the admiral said.

"Correct" Legion responded calmly. "We do not agree with the old machine goals, but we find this upgrade... beautiful. Indicative of life."

"It is" Shepard said, almost helplessly. Raan looked at the human in distaste. "Commander!" she exclaimed.

"Come on, admiral. That's a living creature, no matter what platform it's running on."

"They will die when the base is destroyed" Legion said.

"But they allied with the reapers!" Raan yelled.

"To save themselves from you!" retorted Legion.

"Enough!" Shepard exclaimed quickly, her head aching. "I don't want the geth dying. With these upgrades, they work like organics. Without the metal exteriors, they would be organics!"

"Commander, are you suggesting -"

"I'm not suggesting anything! All I'm saying is, maybe they don't all have to die." Raan sighed and brought in a close-up of Rannoch on the terminal. "The surrounding area is heavily fortified. They have jamming towers to prevent orbital targeting. Admiral Xen developed a technology that briefly passes the jamming codes. I've synced it to the Normandy's targeting system. Commander, a geth fighter squadron is obliterating our fleets. If we don't disable it, a lot of our ships won't make it."

"I'll see if I can do anything, admiral."

 _August 18st, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _CIC Deck, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Second Morning War, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor_

Shepard breathed deeply as she leaned over the banister, staring at the blue hologram of the Normandy. "You're anxious, aren't you, commander?" Traynor asked, not helping to notice the spectre looking worried. Shepard turned her head to look briefly at the specialist, and then she looked back. "This is a big task. Just as big as is was with the reaper on Tuchunka."

"Okay, so you've done something like this before" Samantha said. "There's no need to worry. You're commander Shepard. There's nothing that can beat you." The spectre sighed and spoke into the comm. "Joker. Set a course for the reaper base."

 _August 18st, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _Alliance Class UT-47 Kodiak Shuttle, Above the Aringesh Continent, Rannoch_

 _Second Morning War, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, EDI, Fleet Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, Legion_

Shepard held onto the railing to steady herself on the flight. "What the fastest route to the base? The laser needs a clear line of sight" she said confidently.

"The upper entrance" Legion replied, "target the base before the geth can organize resistance."

"What about you?" Tali asked.

"We will deactivate defence systems and acquire an escape vehicle."

"You can do that?" Shepard asked.

"Correct. We still carry remnants of... the old machine upgrade code" Legion muttered shamefully. "We can break any geth security. You are concerned."

"You know your limits" Shepard said. "I trust you." The door to the shuttle opened out into the open sun. "Proceed into the upper entrance. We will exit here and procure an escape vehicle."

"Good luck" EDI said.

 _August 18st, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _Kolak, Aringesh Continent, Rannoch_

 _Second Morning War, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, EDI, Fleet Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy_

Tali walked out first and examined a patch of ground with her omni-tool. "I still can't believe it. I don't think it's sunk in just yet. I'm on the homeworld. _My_ homeworld." Tali stood up and admired the harsh rocky landscape. "Look at the sky. And the clouds. And the rock formations! They used to write poetry about them." Shepard smiled and moved closer to the quarian. "Maybe when we're done, you'll be able to add to them." Tali chuckled and looked at the flowing river running beneath her feet. "The living room window will be right... here" she said, forming a rectangle with her fingers. "Something I should know?" Laura asked.

"I just claimed the land" the engineer replied. "I know it doesn't mean much, but when we've won this war, I'll finally have a home."

"The quarians have spent centuries as nomads" EDI interrupted, "do you think you can go back to living in place?"

"It will take while, but we'll do it."

The three of them made their way over to the co-ordinates of the base. Some troopers spotted them on the rocks and fired at them. Shepard leapt out and slammed down with her biotics, wiping out the first wave of geth. "More incoming!" Tali yelled, sending out a defence drone for Shepard. The commander fortified her shields and absorbed the plasma being fired at her. She used the energy from the rifle shots to charge her biotics and fire them back. Once the area was clear, Laura, Tali and EDI made their way up into the stronghold.

As several geth fired at the three of them from a distant catwalk, Shepard sent a devastating shockwave across to them, destroying their footing and collapsed the bridge. The spectre and her team moved up to the next level. Tali and EDI crouched behind cover as half a dozen troopers fired at them. Tali sabotaged one of the geth and made it attack it's allies. Whilst they were distracted, EDI picked them all off. The three of them rushed through the door at the farside of the hall. "Shepard-Commander" Legion began, "hostile geth are closing a blast shield over the base." Shepard, EDI and Tali quickly got into combat along the base. "That shield would require hours of charge to penetrate via the Normandy's thanix cannons!"

"Dammit, we don't have that time!" Laura exclaimed.

"We have detected an override terminal atop the geth fortification."

"Crossfire on the lefstide balcony!" Tali exclaimed. They all got into cover as the geth on the opposite catwalk fired at them with a barrage of rockets. Shepard cloaked herself and ran along the small incline jutting out of the wall. She leapt over the banister and swung her right fist at the first geth, knocking it off. The second geth looked in bewilderment as it was kneed in the chest and side of the leg by Laura, who quickly threw it off. The third one looked at the commander as her cloak wore off. It buzzed and swung its weapon, but Shepard grabbed the thick tube and turned it to the side as it fired. She took the geth's legs out from under it and tossed it off the edge.

EDI hacked through the locked door as Shepard made her way to it, along with Tali. As the door opened, the three of them got behind cover once the geth inside noticed them. Shepard looked over the cover and sent out a shockwave of biotics. Tali and EDI cleared the rest out and listened as Legion spoke. "We have bypassed all seventeen security protocols, but disabling the blast shield requires manual input. The console is next to you." Laura fiddled with the buttons on the console. "Shepard-Commander, you have successfully opened the blast shield."

"Great. We'll be out in a minute -"

"Negative" Legion spoke briefly. "The path behind you has been sealed. A nearby elevator can take you to the upper level. From there, you should have an acceptable line of targeting." The three of them ran onto the elevator and made their way up to the next level.

As they reached it, the two geth primes in the room turned around and buzzed angrily. "Geth primes!" Tali exclaimed. Shepard, the quarian and EDI got into cover. EDI overloaded one's systems. "Tali, EDI, take the one on the right. I'll take the one on the left!" Laura hurried over to the left side of the room. The geth prime tried to find Shepard, but she kept manoeuvring between the columns. It eventually found her; the commander gasped and dodged the first few bullets. She clambered onto it and slammed her biotically charged hand into its head. After a long while of smashing, it finally collapsed. Shepard and her team rushed to the vantage point.

Shepard pulled the weapon from her back and stared at the display. "The Normandy's targeting systems are ready to sync with the weapon" EDI said. Shepard focused her sights on the machine within and locked on. The Normandy quickly flew by and fired missiles at it. It roared loudly; the explosion knocked the commander from the pedestal. As Laura got to her feet, a creature rose from the smoke. "Reaper!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. EDI and Tali got down to her level and spotted a vehicle. "We have located transportation!" Legion said.

"Everyone to the vehicle; now!" Laura ordered. The three of them rushed to the vehicle, dodging the reaper all the way. It rose out of the cloud and roared. Shepard frantically clambered onto the back of the vehicle and mounted the turret. "We will attempt evasive manoeuvres!"

As the drove quickly, the spectre fired at the reaper. "Shepard to fleet" she began, "it's not a reaper base; I repeat, it is not a reaper base! It's a live reaper; I need an orbital strike!" The reaper chased after the vehicle as Laura fired at it; the creature's scale was unfathomable. "Fire at will!" the commander yelled. The fleet readied the strike and took the shot, landing it in the reaper's hull.

"What did we hit?" Gerrel asked as the creature collapsed weakly. "The firing chamber" the spectre replied, "looks like a weak point when it's priming."

"Dammit" the admiral cursed, "the jamming towers have us aiming manually. We can't make a precision shot!"

"We have enough time to leave" Legion suggested. Shepard sighed and looked at the reaper. "No. Pull over."

 _August 18st, 2186_

 _1600 hours_

 _Kolak, Aringesh Continent, Rannoch_

 _Second Morning War, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard_

"EDI. Patch the quarians into the weapon. I want the whole damn fleet firing at this thing!"

"Understood."

"Stay clear, Legion. Get away. Shepard to fleet" the commander began as the dull purple creature lumbered to it's feet. "I'll paint the weak spot. Link up with the Normandy and be ready to fire!" As the destroyer got into range, Laura began to lock on. The reaper slowly fired into the sky, attempting to hit its attackers. The guidance locked down, and the fleet fired. It stumbled, but didn't fall. Shepard started the process again, dodging the beam while locking on. Once the location was marked, the fleet fired again, but the beast didn't fall. Again, and again, and again, it didn't fall, only staggered. As it leaned in, it primed it's cannon. Laura slowly locked onto the signal, only barely keeping her balance. The signal was locked. The fleet fired. The reaper tried it's best to stay up, but one fatal punch to the hull toppled it and ground it into the dirt.

" **Shepard** " it boomed as she walked to the cliff edge. "You know who I am?"

" **Harbinger speaks of you. You resist. But you will fail. The cycle will continue.** "

"What the hell are you talking about?" Laura asked angrily. "We stopped Soverign. We stopped the geth. We stopped Harbinger. We stopped the collectors. We've earned an answer."

" **It is nothing you can comprehend** " it boomed confidently.

"Try me."

" **You represent chaos** " it spoke slowly, " **we represent order. Every organic cycle must be harvested to bring an end to that chaos. It is inevitable. We protect you. Without us, organic life is doomed. We are you salvation.** "

"So, you're killing everyone to save them?" Shepard asked.

" **The cycle will continue** " the reaper continued. " **There is no alternative.** "

"Organics and synthetics don't have to destroy each other."

" **The battle for Rannoch disproves your assertion. Finish your war. We will be waiting**."

"Keelah" Tali said in amazement, making her way with Legion to her commander. "We... killed... a reaper." The allied geth checked its systems. "We can confirm the old machines are no longer directing us. We are free."

"You did it, Shepard!" Gerrel exclaimed. "There geth have stopped firing; they're completely vulnerable!

"Shepard-Commander, the geth only acted in self defence. Do we deserve death?"

"What are you suggesting?" Shepard asked.

"The upgrades. With the old machine dead, we could upload the same programming to the geth without the loss of independence."

"That would make the geth as smart as when the reapers were controlling them!" Tali exclaimed.

"Correct" Legion said, bringing up an interface. "With these upgrades, we could assist with the crucible, offer our suggestions."

"So could we!" the quarian retorted, stepping in front of Shepard. "The geth would destroy us! Please, Shepard; you can't choose the geth over my people!"

"Do you remember the question posed when the war began, creator Zorah? 'Does this unit have a soul?'"

"Upload the code" Shepard said coldly. "Tali, call off the fleet if you can." The engineer tried to dissuade the fleet, but they wouldn't stop. "Please, Shepard. I beg of you..." Laura sighed, but then had an idea. "No. No-one else dies today. Legion, keep going." The commander used her communicator. "All ships, this is commander Shepard. The reaper is dead. Stand down." Tali confirmed the message.

"I agree" Koris said, but admiral Gerrel refused. "Negative! We can win this; keep going!"

"Sixty percent download" Legion said.

"The geth are about to be at full strength! If you keep attacking, they'll wipe you out. You entire history is you trying to kill the geth. You turned on them. You forced them to rebel, to ally with the reapers, you even forced them to drive you off of your own planet!"

"Eighty percent."

"The geth don't want to fight you. If you believe that, this war will be over. You have a choice. Please, make the right one." The comm went quiet for a moment. "All fleets, hold fire" Gerrel said. Shepard smiled and walked over to Legion. "Error" it said, shutting down the interface. "Copying code is corrupt. The remaining useful code is insufficient. Direct personality dissemination required. I must go with them. There is no alternative. I'm sorry." Laura thought about it, and then realized what the allied geth was talking about. She reached out her hand and shook its. "It's been a pleasure." Tali stepped forward.

"The answer to your question was 'yes'."

"Thank you, creator Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Keelah se'lai." Legion buzzed, and then lost control of his body. The metal shell slowly fell to the floor.

"Commander" a familiar quarian muttered. Shepard turned around and saw an admiral. "Raan" the spectre said. "I heard your ship made a crash landing. I'm glad you got out in one piece."

"I heard the radio" she said, gripped her side. "If Han'Gerrel hadn't stopped-"

"He did. No harm was done."

"We took heavy losses. W – where should we go?" A geth prime lumbered behind the admiral. "You are welcome to return to Rannoch, creator Raan. With us."

"Legion?" Shepard asked hopefully.

"Negative. I am sorry, commander. It sacrificed itself to give us intelligence. It will be honoured. We will honour it's promise, also. Our ships will help retake Earth, and we will offer assistance on the crucible. Creator Raan, have you considered any settlement sites?"

"I... the southern continent has excellent farmland, as I recall."

"Are you going to be okay?" the commander asked.

"We will be fine. Thank you."

Tali walked to the cliff edge, quickly followed by her commander. "Looking to buy another house?" the spectre asked.

"Beachfront property."

"Claim it fast. It's a dangerous market." Tali chuckled and sat down, looking over the land. "Are you sure you'll be able to work with the geth?" Laura asked.

"I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"You've earned a few favours for the fleet."

"I'm asking them to fight the reapers. That's enough of an ask."

"I know. The reapers won't stop; they'll come to Rannoch." The quarian sighed deeply. "I look at these views... all I see is the people I've lost." The two of them stood up, still staring at the scenery. "It will be years before our people can take off our suits completely. But right now..." Tali reached up and unclasped her mask, pulling it from her face. "I have this." She looked to her commander and smiled.

 _August 18st, 2186_

 _1800 hours_

 _SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard_

Back on the Normandy, Shepard sat in her cabin, unsure of what to do next. There were no new messages for her, no tasks to complete. For once in a while, Shepard had absolutely nothing to do. She didn't like it.

Throughout her life, she always had something to keep her occupied; do the washing up, clean the house, stop a galactic invasion. For once, she was free of tasks, and she was unsettled; she was out of her comfort zone.

Laura breathed deeply and twiddled her thumbs. _Thud, thud, thud._ The spectre quickly focused her gaze on the door to her cabin. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Liara" the asari replied. Shepard quickly brought up her omni-tool and unlocked the door. The broker slowly walked into the room and leaned against the railing to the stairs. "You look bored" she pointed out. Laura smiled lightly and threw her gaze around the room. "I am. This doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean by 'this'?" Liara asked inquisitively.

"This! Having nothing to do feels so... strange." T'Soni smiled warmly as she bit her bottom lip. "Okay. What do you say to a nice evening stroll on the Citadel?" Laura leaned in playfully. "Go on..." The asari took a few tentative steps down the flight of stairs. "I was thinking; we could visit the commons. Get something to eat, maybe watch a movie. I've heard great things about Blasto 6 this time of year." Shepard smiled at the kind gesture. "I'd like that; thank you. And besides, I'm craving some action that _I'm_ not a part of" she said devilishly. Liara chuckled at the quick remark and locked into a gaze with the emerald green stare of the wise spectre. "Should I get dressed up for the occasion?" the asari asked. At that moment, Shepard pictured her lover in a figure-hugging long pale white dress which left little to the imagination. "You look fantastic in a tight dress, but I've had enough of those recently. Let's go in something casual." The broker politely nodded and made her way further into the room. "Do you mind if I use some of your products?" she asked, referring to her make-up and spray. Shepard shook her head, got up and walked into the bathroom. She dampened her hand and brushed her hair with it. She looked in the mirror, turned on the tap and splashed her face. Time to hit the town.


	13. Alpha

_August 18st, 2186_

 _1800 hours_

 _Bridge, CIC Deck, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Pilot Jeff 'Joker' Moreau_

Shepard and Liara walked down the bridge as Joker checked through the comm channels. "Alliance control, this is SSV Normandy, are we clear to descend?" Joker repeated. Laura put her hand on the pilot's chair. "What's going on?" Liara asked. Joker spun around and sighed. "No clue. They aren't responding; I've tried them nearly a dozen times. The comms are still on; what's happening down there?"

One of the soldiers turned to the beeping noise at the station and turned it off.

"Surely they'd have backups online" Shepard suggested. Joker turned back around and checked his interface. "I have a bad feeling. Checking emergency channels." Joker tapped his ear, as if answering a call. He spoke, and then looked at the commander. "Shepard, Thane's on the line. Think you'll want to hear this." Laura nodded. The drell coughed and then spoke. "Shepard, this is Thane. The citadel is under attack. The place is crawling with Cerberus troops, and they have control of the docks."

"Are you alright? How did Cerberus take control?" Shepard asked worryingly.

"I'm fine; I've had to evade some of them. I'm at the storefront. As for how they took over, I have no idea. One minute, I was being examined, the next, the power in the hospital fluctuated. Then, there were explosions. I'm heading to C-Sec headquaters."

"Why there?" the spectre asked.

"It's been compromised, and C-Sec's response depends on it. As long as Cerberus is holding the HQ, they're in control of the station."

"Alright. Joker, deploy a shuttle near the C-Sec HQ." As Laura walked past the asari, she told her to stay. Liara pouted and folded her arms. "But I prepared myself" she said devilishly, "don't let it go to waste."

"Fine!" Laura snapped. "Put on some armour and meet me in the cargo bay."

 _August 18st, 2186_

 _1800 hours_

 _C-Sec Headquarters, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian_

The shuttle landed just outside a warzone. As it landed, troopers spotted it and began firing ferociously at it. "Move in, people! Get to cover!" Shepard exclaimed, leaping from the shuttle and rolling into cover. Liara crouched down next to her lover and equipped her warp ammo. Garrus sat in the shuttle for a moment and picked off stragglers. He then hopped out of the vehicle and got behind a chest high wall. Liara poked her head out and flared her biotics. She ducked back under as an engineer fired at her from afar. Laura passed the asari and ran down the side, taking down troopers as she went. One swung at her once he noticed her, but she grabbed the butt of his gun and threw him over the side. "Turn up the heat, people!" Alpha yelled through the loud speaker. Before Shepard knew it, the Cerberus troopers flexed and glowed blue. All of a sudden, they began blasting the spectre and her crew with harsh biotic fire. "What the –!" Laura yelled, getting into cover. "Well this is a step up from what we're used to!" Garrus exclaimed. The commander looked out of cover and shot her biotics towards the nearest soldier to her, but he fought back, charging another biotic burst with the same power as Laura's. The two of them gritted their teeth as they fought against each other. Eventually, Shepard overpowered the trooper and flung him to the other side of the hall.

"By the goddess, they're powerful!" Liara yelled, narrowly avoiding a blast to the head. "When did they get so overpowered?!" asked Shepard rhetorically. The radio buzzed. "Unit AB-6, form a defensive line over the middle lane" the general commanded. "Unit AB-3, bombard those bastards with fire power!" A group of troopers pulled shields from their backs and set them down at the end of the centre. Another group of Cerberus soldiers started firing at Shepard and her crew. "This whole thing just got a lot more difficult!" Garrus exclaimed, picking off two of the soldiers at the window above the door. Shepard charged up a huge blast and triggered it, burning through the two units by the door.

"Shepard!" Bailey yelled weakly. Laura, Liara and Garrus hurried over to him. "I saw those troopers on you. What was that?"

"I have no clue. And, anyway, what are you doing here?" Laura responded quickly.

"I've been trying to retake the HQ. Cerberus overpowered us on the first push. We have to kick them out. Everyone's flying blind without the networks!" The spectre reached out and picked up Bailey. "Do you know if the councillors are still alive?" Vakarian asked.

"They split up. I'll know if they're alive when I reach a terminal." The C-Sec officer unlocked the door and walked inside. He sat down at the desk and checked the data. "Here we go" he said, smiling maliciously. "Network access, all thanks to Cerberus. They control the main channels, but if I create a new one, our people have a chance." He scurried through the computer, and found something interesting. "Hello..." he muttered. Shepard walked over to him and asked what it was. "It's a warning from Councillor Valern. He's meant to be meeting with the executor. 'Be on guard... the likelihood of betrayal is high.' Not much else. But, if he's inside..."

"One councillor's better than zero" Shepard said, "where would he be?"

"He could be in the executor's office" Garrus suggested. "He can keep it fortified and stay alive for a while."

"On it" the spectre said. Bailey quickly set up a comm channel with Shepard.

"Thane, did you hear all that?" Laura asked, running alongside Garrus and Liara. "Yes" the drell replied heavily, "I'm nearing the building, but running is tricky" he said, breathing quickly. "I'll contact you when I'm in." Laura tried to sneak into the next room, but the troopers inside caught her. They slung a biotic blast at the spectre and her crew. Liara was knocked against the wall. Whilst Garrus fought against the group of soldier, Shepard swung Liara's arm over her shoulder and carried her to cover. "Thank you" the asari said. "This Cerberus infantry has definitely been upgraded. Implants, maybe?" The commander looked out from cover and blocked an incoming grenade. She bounced it back to them and ducked as it exploded. Two soldiers came in from the side; one engineer, and one shield-barer. As Liara took a few risky shots at them, the guardian held up his shield in defiance. The engineer got to the bottom of the flight of stairs and swiftly set up a turret.

The soldier backed behind the one with a shield. Garrus focused his sights and shot the guardian through the slit in his protection. Liara quickly got behind the turret and dismantled it. Shepard walked up the stairs and bypassed a door to her left. Her and her squad walked into the next room and killed the two soldiers inside before they could get a chance to fight back. The three of the rushed down the hall. Shepard smashed through the door and sent the elevator up.

Shepard, T'Soni and Vakarian walked through the halls of the next floor, looking for survivors. The commander leapt over cover and brushed her hand through her wet hair. "Come on" Laura beckoned. She waited for her team to get to her, and then passed through the doorway in front of her. "Drop 'em" the spectre ordered quietly. Garrus got out his assault rifle and focused on the two guards up ahead. He held down the trigger and melted the soldiers. The three of them made their way down the hallway. The door at the end was locked, so Shepard ordered Liara to hack it. "They've really done some damage" Vakarian mentioned, "and they haven't been subtle about it. Leaving corpses out in the halls, massacring innocents. Cerberus is playing it dirty." The asari got the door open; Laura, Garrus and Liara walked out into the hall.

"We have to be close now" Shepard said, priming her biotics and readying for an ambush. "Yeah" the marksman responded, "there's a stairwell not too far from here. It leads right to the executor's office. Let's hope we aren't too late." As Laura walked, she heard her own footsteps. "I can hear an echo" she said uncomfortably. "It's too quiet." Suddenly, a troopers zoomed down to the ground and slammed down with his biotics. Laura was knocked aside, but quickly recovered. Her vision was dazed for a moment, but she could see Liara battling a soldier. "Liara!" she called out. The spectre's biotics flared down her arm, but the asari dealt with it. Garrus picked off a trooper running towards the commander. Shepard slowly stood up, thanked them, and then continued on the journey to the office. The three of them walked up the staircase and took cover by the door. Liara opened it, and Shepard and her crew tip-toed in, primed for an attack. Laura looked around and saw their target. "Bailey" she said, raising up her omni-tool, "looks like they got the executor and his bodyguards."

"Dammit" the C-Sec officer angrily whispered, "All right. Carry on the search. Don't count out the councillor until you see his body." Shepard walked over to Garrus, who was looking at the window at a moving chair in a silent room. The salarian councillor quickly uncloaked himself once he thought he was safe.

"We found him" Laura said.

"Great. Get him someplace safe!" Bailey ordered. Shepard turned around and signalled her team. In that time, a familiar Cerberus figure landed on the metal framing, spied the councillor, and then dropped down in front of him. "Pleasure to meet you" Alpha spoke chillingly, slowly backing the salarian up. Laura looked back and stared at the general. She flared her biotics and smashed the huge sheet of glass in front of her. At the noise, Alpha quickly moved past the councillor and charged her cannon. "Don't you dare..." Shepard warned, jumping through the window and landing behind Alpha's target. The salarian held his hands up in fear. "Shepard, she's going to kill us!" the salarian exclaimed. The spectre shook her head in disbelief. "That remains to be seen."

"I mean Udina!" the councillor exclaimed. "He's staging a coup; he's preparing the other councillors for Cerberus!" Liara and Garrus moved in, priming their weapons. "Three on one, bitch" Laura cursed confidently, "You're done for."

"No" the general uttered, "now I'm excited."

Thane held out a gun to Alpha's head. In in a quick moment, the general turned around and knocked the gun out of the drell's hand. She blocked a few hits, and then knocked the side of Thane's head with her elbow. The drell swung for her again, but the general grabbed his arm, twisted it around and slammed him on the floor. The drell quickly got to his feet and turned around; Alpha was gone.

The general used the time to uncloak and make a run for the assassin. He ducked under Alpha's first hit, but was contacted in the shoulder by the second. Thane ducked under the third, grabbed his gun, and as he brought his arm up, Alpha pushed it away with her left and held the cannon to her right. She took the shot, which blasted the drell away. "Thane!" Shepard yelled. Liara shot at the general as she leapt over the railing and sprinted down the stairs. Laura quickly chased after her, but cursed under her breath as she leapt off of the edge. In the next moment, Alpha rose on a blue shuttle. "Face it, Shepard" she bellowed triumphantly, "he was close to death, anyway. Call it assisted suicide." The spectre growled and charged her biotics, but the general knocked the commander aside with an equally powerful biotic blast. In the next moment, she was gone.

Thane slowly walked down the steps, but collapsed against a wall. "How bad is it?" Shepard asked.

"I have enough time. Catch her." Laura raised her arm and answered the incoming call. "What's going on up there, Shepard?!" Bailey exclaimed.

"Thane needs medical attention ASAP, and I need to deal with another pest."

"He must be attempting an assassination on the other councillors."

"Get the word out" Laura ordered; "Udina's trying to seize power."

"They're being escorted to a shuttle pad on the Presidium. Start making your way there; I'll try to contact them."

Laura and her team got into a car and started towards the council. "I've got their position" Bailey said, "I'll update your Navpoint."

"Good work, Bailey. I'll -" Shepard was interrupted by a loud thud, followed in the instant by Alpha landing on the front of her car. Shepard recoiled in fear, but then looked back in anger. The general confidently strode to the very top of the car, where she charged her cannon again. The spectre opened the door, leaned out of the side and primed her biotics. The cerberus member shot at the core of the car and then jumped into her own. The doors on her cab closed, and she zoomed off whilst Shepard and her squad plummeted to their demise. "Brace for impact!"

The car crashed, skidding along the ground until it slammed against a wall.

 _August 18st, 2186_

 _2000 hours_

 _Residential Units, Presidium Commons, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian_

"Everyone all right?" Shepard asked, groaning. Her team was fine. They made their way out of the fiery wreckage. "Shepard, my intel says your car's stopped" Bailey said.

"We were de-mobilized" Laura said bitterly, "We're on foot now. Any luck with the council?"

"Negative – the guards are dead, but there are vital signs on their corresponders.

"Where are they headed?"

"The shuttle pad above Shalmar Plaza. Udina's with them. If he gets them in range of that assassin, this is all over."

"On our way."

The three of them got into cover. Liara peeked out and attempted a warp, but the troopers quickly put an end to it. Garrus looked over and emptied a clip in the nearest soldiers. As he reloaded, the asari shot at the next wave of soldiers. Laura charged up a biotic beam, and then activated it, burning through units.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shepard spotted Alpha in front of them. She began to sprint towards her, but Liara held her back. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed.

"Putting an end to this! I'll go over and stop assassin whilst you and Garrus see how far to the council you can get. Please... let me do this" the spectre begged. Liara thought for a moment, and then let go of her lover's arm. "Thank you, Liara. I'll see you on the other side..." The commander looked towards where the general had gone and broke into a sprint.

O0o

Laura clambered up and ran along the inner workings. At the end was an open panel, and outside of it was the assassin. "Stop running, you slippery fuck!" Laura yelled, charging her biotics and blasting the general. Alpha quickly looked back and deflected the attack, countering with her own which knocked the commander down and sent her falling to the ground.

Shepard landed with a thud, and saw Alpha stop and turn around. She jumped up and slowly moved closer to the assassin, finally catching a good glimpse of the charcoal battle-scarred armour and her black-tinted mask. Laura knelt down and touched a small pool of blood on the floor. She lifted up her fingers and examined the violet blood. "Purple... you're an asari" the spectre said clearly.

"I am" the assassin retorted, "My name's Alpha, by the way, and you worked just the way I wanted to..."

"And how was that?" Laura asked.

"You chased after me, like I thought you would. You just couldn't let it go, could you? Me beating you. I came here because I know you, know how you operate. The Illusive Man has given me so much info from you. Dossiers, mission reports. I even had the time to take my own sample of your... abilities... which turned out to be perfect to replicate and disperse among soldiers" the general said slowly.

"So it was you that made these soldiers so powerful" Laura muttered, "but... how?" Alpha reached down to her hip and pulled out a dagger from it's casing. "Remember the base on Sur'Kesh? And remember how you thought you could slow me down? Remember how I dealt with you? I cut through you with this knife. When I got back, I got the greenlight for some examinations. There were enough genetic DNA samples for millions of soldiers. Biotics can be passed down through DNA; I stole those extraordinary biotic samples, and fused them with a soldier. I cloned the soldier, and created an army."

"Oh, you're good..." Laura said bitterly. The assassin smiled and holstered the blade. "I know. Which is why I led you here; away from your friends, where I can have you all to myself. Is there really any need to try? I've beaten you on Mars, I've beaten you on Sur'Kesh, I've even killed one of your friends -"

"Critically injured" Laura interrupted.

"Like I said, he was old and ill. Assisted suicide. You know, you don't have to fight me. You can let me go and kill the council. That's the easy option."

"I'm not an easy type of person" Shepard growled. Alpha smiled excitedly and prepared herself. "And a quip? Oh, I'm going to have fun breaking you."

Alpha threw the first hook. It lightly glanced Shepard's chin. The asari cut through with a raising right fist. That one hit her opponent. The commander yelped in pain. "Dammit!" she cried. Laura quickly shrugged it off and countered with a loose right-handed punch. It was a risky move, and a sloppy execution. The general swiftly grasped the spectre's hand and squeezed as hard as she could. She lifted Shepard slowly off the ground. "Accept..." she began, wrapping her left hand around her foe's throat and letting go of her hand. "...that I'm better than you!" she screamed. Shepard struggled. She primed her right hand, clenching it into a tight ball, and then struck out, making a brief and hard contact with the general's head. Alpha staggered to the side in pain. Laura took the opportunity and quickly swung with a left hook. The cerberus soldier steadied herself with the speed of a bullet and took hold of Shepard's hand. She twisted the commander around and got her where she wanted her. Alpha hastily raised her knee and pounded into her opponent's stomach over and over again. Laura cried out in pain as she was thrown to the floor. The asari shrugged off the pain like it was nothing and took a step closer to the commander. "Do me a favour; die slowly." Laura growled and took out Alpha's feet from under her. She collapsed to the ground. Shepard briskly got to her feet and then clamped down on the general. She shuffled up her body and began hitting her mask as hard as she could. Crying out, Alpha pulled Shepard's next punch away and, with her free hand, smashed her foe's spine. The spectre gritted her teeth and continued punching with one hand. The general clasped her hands tightly around the commander's throat and headbutted her. "Fuck!" Laura exclaimed, blood oozing from her lip and cheek.

The two of them rolled on the floor for a moment, hitting each other ferociously, until Alpha flared biotics down her leg and blasted the spectre away. Laura slowly got up at the same time as the general. "Just tell me who you are!" Shepard commanded. Alpha, bruised and grazed, breathed heavily. She raised her hand to the side of her helmet and pressed down. She did the same with the other side. The bottoms on her headgear loosened. The general grasped it and lightly pulled it off. She threw it to the floor.

Her light skinned face, paler than the rest of her head. Thin laugh lines. Light violet lips. Green eyes. Dark blue marking where her eyebrows should be.

Then, Shepard thought back to a news article she read a few weeks ago. It was about indoctrination. In it, the subject of the story died. They showed an image of her.

Alpha was Rana Thanoptis.

"You..." Shepard muttered. "Rana. But... you're..."

"Dead?" she choked coldly. "Are you really going to believe the shit the Alliance spews? I escaped, and they gave up trying to capture me."

"Why are you with Cerberus?" Laura asked, still bewildered.

"They believe in a better future. It took a lot of work for an asari to work with a pro-human group, but I managed. All of that time working with Saren years ago; it made me realize. He was right. You weren't. We didn't have to kill off the reapers. They would be so much more useful to us alive. When he died, the Illusive Man saw my work. I applied for a job, and after much grovelling, I got in. Then, I adopted his views. We could control the reapers. Imagine the power we would yield! Anyone fighting the reapers needs to die, and you're at the forefront of that. Time to get my wish" she said, sprinting forward.

Shepard was pinned against the wall by Alpha, or Rana. The asari headbutted the commander again and again. Eventually, the spectre struck out, hitting the general in the ribs. She staggered backwards, and Laura ran towards her, kicking and punching her. The cerberus soldier pushed her opponent away and backed up. "You may... have beaten me here" she choked, spitting blood onto the floor; "but your day will come, Shepard. Mark my words." Rana turned around and walked into her shuttle. Laura watched the car fly away; once it was gone, the commander raised her arm. "Liara, Garrus, where are you?"

"We're by the elevators. We'll update your navpoint" Liara replied.

O0o

Shepard made her way to her team. "Are the council up there?" she asked. Garrus nodded. Laura passed him and stepped into the elevator. "Come on. No time to waste."

Once Liara and Garrus were in the elevator, they rode up to the top floor. As the door opened, the council gasped. "Shepard" Tevos said as she saw the face of spectre. "Thank the goddess!"

"You've all been fooled" the commander retorted angrily. "Udina's behind this attack. The salarian councillor confirmed it."

"Please" the human councillor said with confidence, "you have no proof. You never do." The turian and asari councillor exchanged troubled glances. "We have mistrusted Shepard in the past" the asari said, "and it hasn't help us."

"We don't have time to negotiate" Udina said. "We're all dead if we stay up here. I'll call a shuttle." He walked over to the terminal and began to hail an evacuation. Tevos walked over to him and put her hand on his arm, signalling for him to step back. The human councillor pushed the asari onto the ground and pulled out a gun. Before Shepard could tear him apart, Garrus took out his rifle and shot Udina through the head.

The door behind them rumbled, then sparks flew out. It was being forced open. Shepard primed her biotics, but Bailey stepped through the door. "Bailey?" the commander exclaimed.

"We made it here as fast as we could" he replied, looking to his assistant. "It looks like you, uh... took care of things." The turian councillor looked to Shepard. "Do you have any idea why the Illusive Man would do something like this? Or Udina, for that matter?"

"No. But I plan to find out."

 _August 18st, 2186_

 _2100 hours_

 _Cerberus A-Class Shuttle, Residential Units, Presidium Commons, Citadel_

 _Reaper War_

 _Rana 'Alpha' Thanoptis_

The asari flicked through her comm channels angrily until she brought up a video of the Illusive Man. "Alpha" the man said.

"Things didn't go as planned. The council still holds the citadel, Udina's dead. On the plus side, I didn't have to kill Shepard."

"Udina was an expendable asset. As for you, I've noticed your helmet is off. Something you'd like to tell me?"

"Shepard fought me, as expected, but it didn't go how I thought it would. I ended up revealing who I was." The Illusive Man sighed and put his cigarette down. "There are plans in motion, Thanoptis. I'll fill you in when you get back."

 _August 18st, 2186_

 _2200 hours_

 _Captain's Cabin, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni_

After telling a few members of the crew how it was on the citadel, Shepard and T'Soni retreated to the cabin, where they could relax.

Laura pulled the band out of her hair and threw it on the bedside drawer. "At least we visited the citadel" Liara said, trying to lighten the mood. Shepard chuckled and sat down on the bed, pulling off her boots. "That we did" she replied, smiling. "Look at the bright side; I think I scared Alpha off for a while... or should I say Rana."

"I don't think she'll have the nerve to bother us for a while." Liara began to walk out of the cabin, but Shepard patted the bed. The asari sat down beside the commander. "What is it?" she asked.

"Sleep here for tonight, Liara" Shepard begged, "please. I get so lonely sat up here on my own." T'Soni smiled warmly and pecked the spectre on the cheek. "I'm sure _one_ night without the office won't kill me."


	14. Catalyst

_Unknown_

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

It was that same nightmare again. Same child, same forest, same fire.

 _August 19st, 2186_

 _1100 hours_

 _Captain's Cabin, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni_

As Shepard woke, she lazily rubbed her eyes and stretched. Through her clearing vision, she saw Liara sitting at the desk scrolling through networking channels. Laura looked to her side and saw the time. "You're finally awake" Liara noted, smiling at her lover. The commander groaned. "Why didn't you wake me?" she asked impatiently.

"I wanted to let you sleep a little longer. I know that you've been having trouble sleeping recently." Shepard broke into a huge smile. "Thanks, Liara. That's thoughtful." She sat up and yawned, looking back over at the broker. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm searching through networks and extranet channels for something to do."

"If you're bored, I have plenty of board games" Laura said, getting some fresh clothes out of the wardrobe. Liara chuckled quietly. "No, thank you. Board games aren't my thing."

"What is you thing?" Laura asked, walking over to the en-quite and putting the clothes over the rack. "My thing is studies and statistics." Laura smiled, pulling off her underwear. "You're so unique, Liara T'Soni."

"I will take that as a compliment."

"Good."

 _August 19st, 2186_

 _1100 hours_

 _War Room, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Councillor Tevos_

After a brisk shower, Laura headed down to the war room. On the way, though, Traynor informed her off a message on the comms. Shepard made her way into the QEC.

"Commander" Tevos began, her voice quivering. "I-"

"You've been crying" Shepard said, "I can tell. What's wrong?" The councillor looked at the floor in anguish. "It's Thessia, Shepard. It's... we're being beaten down by the reapers" she said, attempting to speak with confidence. "They're mowing through our units out there. Thessia has felt the brunt of the attack."

"So, you deny help for Earth, but feel obligated for it when it's your own planet?" Laura said angrily. Tevos tried her best not to burst into tears. "I'm... so sorry, commander. But you know what's like. At the time, we didn't. You're only missing our alliance. Save Thessia for us, and our fleets will be yours." She could see Shepard breaking, but she needed something else. "There's something else on our homeworld. An old temple, created by the Protheans. We've studied it; it appears to be a major lead in your missing Crucible part." Shepard looked up and smirked. "Okay, you've got me. I won't let Thessia fall, councillor. I promise."

As Shepard made her way to the bridge, Liara stopped her. "I presume you've heard of what has happened to the homeworld?" the asari said. Shepard nodded slowly. "I'm going down there; to save your world."

"Let me come with you, Shepard. It's _my_ people being torn up down there. Please." Laura thought for a moment, then nodded. "Let's get to the shuttles."

 _August 19st, 2186_

 _1100 hours_

 _UT-47 Alliance Kodiak Shuttle, Ka'ailessia Union, Thessia_

 _Fall of Thessia, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian_

Liara didn't want to, but she couldn't help staring at the vids of Thessia being torn to shreds by the reapers. Shepard cut her out of her moment. "Liara, do you have anything more on the artifact?" the commander asked.

"The co-ordinates Tevos sent to you are for the temple of Athame. I've only been there once; Benezia took me. It's a few millennia old." Liara looked to the floor, then to the vid, and then back to Shepard. "What if – what if we're too late? What if Thessia falls?"

"It won't" Shepard assured her. "We'll find the Catalyst and save Thessia."

Cortez landed the shuttle on a high pile of rubble. As the door opened, Liara gasped. "This can't be happening! My home..."

"Looks bad, but we can't stay up here" Garrus insisted. Laura and her team moved down the huge pile and met with a group of commandos at the bottom. "I'm Lieutenant Kurin" the asari said. "We heard..." A huge explosion shattered the barrier. "We'll talk later!" Kurin exclaimed. "Get on that turret and protect us!" A few asari got into the newly formed gap and formed a biotic shield. "Liara, help them out. Garrus, help me take them down!" Shepard clambered up and sat in the turret. Whilst the marksman picked off the reaper forces, the commander gunned down several units of ground troopers. It was quick. Soon enough, the bridge was clear.

Shepard got out of the turret and walked with Garrus to the lieutenant. "I want the gunship prepped and in the air!" she exclaimed. She turned to the spectre and smiled. "We've been told to expect you; our orders are to hold this grid. Our perimeter is collapsing. We need to evacuate." Kurin walked about, scanning the bodies for life signatures. "My team and I are looking for an artifact" Shepard revealed, "it's important."

"That's what this is all about?!" the lieutenant retorted. "One of our teams tried reaching it, but we haven't heard back from them." The asari looked at the gunship impatiently. "Get that gunship moving; now!" The lieutenant looked back to Shepard. "I'm sorry, commander. We've lost enough people today. Your relic will survive a little longer; we need to evacuate." Liara angrily stood up and stomped over to Kurin. "No" she replied. "If we don't reach that temple, Thessia will fall. This will be the last you see of it. You are witnessing an extinction."

"You really think this relic can stop all that?"

"The machine it belongs to can; a superweapon which will wipe out the reapers. It's the only chance we have." Kurin thought for a second, and then nodded to herself. She raised her hand to the side of her head. "I want a path carved to that temple. Outpost Tykis, Shepard is on her way. Make it count."

Laura, Liara and Garrus passed through the biotic shield and sprinted along the bridge. A group of harvesters roared from above the rooftops. "Here they come!" Shepard yelled. A group of cannibals crawled from over the other side of the bridge. Liara yelled out in anger and activated her biotics. Alongside her, Shepard helped the asari take out the reaper forces on the bridge.

The three of them passed through the rubble inside of the building, clambering over piles of bent metal and charred framing until they got out onto a catwalk overlooking the catwalk. "Look!" Liara exclaimed. "Over there!" She pointed to a harvester roaring in the distance and firing off shots at a team of asari. Garrus stared down at the courtyard. "Keep focus on them!" he said. The three of them got behind cover and waited for the first wave of creatures to stop firing. Then, the marksman looked up and cleared them out. "More on their way!" Shepard exclaimed, firing off a weak shot into the distance. A group of marauders stormed forward and were quickly gunned down. A cluster of cannibals followed, with the same fate.

Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched scream erupted from the end of the yard. "Banshee!" Laura exclaimed, getting back behind cover. Liara stared at the creature as it floated into the courtyard. The commander pulled her down and watched as Garrus took a few shots at it. It shrugged them off and retaliated with a weak biotic blast. Laura quickly brought up a biotic wall to block the incoming threat. She brought it down and killed off the creature. "Up here" Shepard said hastily. The three of them jogged through the open door way.

"I still can't face those things" Liara said calmly. "My own people..."

"Now you know what it's like to see those husks" Laura replied. Shepard, Vakarian and T'Soni hurried through the rubble and got into cover in the next encounter. "Snipers to the left – on the balcony!" Garrus called out. Liara charged her biotics and took out a few forces. "Above us!" she exclaimed. The spectre looked up and saw a reaper tear through buildings like nothing. Vakarian helped Liara take down the forces as Shepard reached the balcony. "We're glad you're here" one of the snipers said. "Help us take down these reapers, though. Grab Sergeant Myaka's rifle." Laura took the sniper from the clenched hands of the corpse, rested it on the banister and took aim. She focused her sights on a nearby cannibal and took the shot. The other creatures around it roared, as they were confused on who to fight; Liara and Garrus, or Shepard and the snipers. They eventually decided to battle with the asari and the turian. "Rip them down, team!" another sniper said. Laura held her breath and guided her line of sight onto a marauder. She took the shot.

Liara and Garrus rushed up to the balcony. "God, it feels like years since I've used a sniper" Laura said, grinning happily. "Do you mind if I keep this?"

"No, we don't" one marskman said. "Refill your supply he-" She was cut off. A large explosion went off on the balcony. A scream was muffled as a cannibal stepped out of the dust and kicked Shepard. She dodged the next hit, grabbed it's arm, twisted it upwards and shot through it's brains. Two husks rushed toward her; she held out her sniper, holding one of them back, and tripped the other one up. She pushed it away, aimed down at the creature on the floor and shot it. Shepard looked at the husk sprinting towards her and shot through it's head.

"Anyone still alive?" Garrus asked. One remaining sniper looked up. "Looks like I'm the only one who made it – make their sacrifices mean something, commander." Shepard nodded and ran with her team as fast as they could up to outpost Tykis.

An asari ran away from chaos, but was knocked off of her feet. She grabbed her gun and followed the commander to cover. "We're trying to reach outpost Tykis-" Shepard said. The asari looked back onto the warzone, and then she turned and stared at the commander. "You're looking at it" she said.

"What about your squad?"

"They're all dead. We tried an assault on the temple, but... I'm all that's left."

"Reinforcements?" Laura asked hopefully.

"We had gunships offering support, but that reaper cut them off. They can't risk it."

"I know it's hard to swallow, but there's no other way in without those ships." The soldier sighed and contacted the pilots. "Talon Swarm, this is outpost Tykis. Is there anybody left on this frequency? We're in need of immediate air support; Shepard is here."

"Copy, this is Talon one and talon five. We're on the way!"

The two gunships flew in and wiped out the incoming forces. A harvester turned the corner, took aim on one of the gunships and shot at it, knocking it out of the sky. Talon one flew around the creature, spraying bullets at it from a distance. "This airspace is too hot, commander. What should we do?!"

"Save yourself, Talon. Regroup with Lieutenant Kurin. We'll take it from here." As the gunship flew away, Shepard, Laura, Garrus and the asari soldier rushed forward, toward the harvester.

As they rushed in, the soldier was shot, leaving her for dead. "Shit!" Laura cursed. She turned around and fought off incoming husks. The three of them got into cover and finished off the harvester. They ducked behind cover as it exploded. Once it was down, they all raced to the temple.

As they saw that the door was protected, Liara walked over to the terminal to hack it. "There... there were five million asari when this war began" Liara said woefully. "I wonder how many we've lost."

"We'll make it worth while, Liara. I promise." Garrus and Laura checked around until the asari got through the shield, at which point they made their way inside.

 _August 19_ _st_ _, 2186_

 _1300 hours_

 _Athame Temple, Ka'ailessia Union, Thessia_

 _Fall of Thessia, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian_

They moved into the temple slowly, quietly, cautiously. "Maybe one of these artefacts is what we're looking for." Shepard walked up to the small podium in the centre of the room and lightly brushed her fingers over it. "Who's this?" Shepard asked, looking at the towering statuette. Liara stared up at the figure in awe. "The goddess Athame herself. It's a relic of the old faith." As the broker got into it, Shepard began to feel herself drifting off, almost phasing out of existence. Something stood out. And then it all became clear.

"There's a beacon here" Laura said, interrupting her lover. The asari raised a brow. "What? You're certain?"

"Yeah; I felt it. That feeling isn't something you forget." Liara pushed past the spectre and examined the podium. "From the few records I am able to access, it talks about tapping into Prothean data streams, reconstructing matrices... none of which I see here." Laura looked over at a glow coming from one of the artefacts. She walked over to it and brushed her hand delicately over it. It sent a beam up to the statue, which made it crack. "There must be more connections!" she exclaimed. She began frantically searching over every single relic, until she came to one which sent the same beam up to Athame. The statue cracked until it split open and shattered. "We must be able to access the beacon now!" Liara exclaimed. The three of them walked over to the podium, and Shepard accessed it again. A large green orb floated out into the air.

"Obtaining chronological marker. Hold... post-prothean timescale confirmed." It rose high into the air. "Reaper presence detected! This cycle has already reached it's end!" It lowered back down. "Systems shutting down..." Laura interrupted it quickly. "Not so fast; we need answers!"

"To what question?" it asked.

"The catalyst. We need to know what it is so that we can finish the crucible." The orb formed into a creature. "A prothean" Liara said.

"Like Vigil?" Garrus asked.

"I am called Vendetta" it confirmed, "an advanced virtual construct of Pashek Vran, overseer of the project you refer to as 'Crucible'. He died fighting the reapers in battle. Your time as also come to an end."

"There's still plenty of hope for this cycle" Shepard assured. "We need to know about the catalyst. If we finish the crucible, this will end. We've begun building it already!"

"This crucible is not of prothean design. It has simply handed down throughout cycles, each one adding something new. Each cycle improves upon it, yet none have yet defeated the reapers."

"Then let us be the first! Tell us what the catalyst is."

"Very well. If you have begun work on the crucible, I will interface with your systems to-" the V.I turned around and then transformed back into the orb. "Indoctrinated presence detected! Activated security protocol B-A4." Shepard and her squad looked out into the distance; they saw Alpha.

"You..." Laura said, beckoning her squad to pull their weapons. "What do you want?"

"Your attention" Rana replied monotonously. She brought up a small orb, which projected a transmission of the Illusive Man.

"How did you find this place?" Laura asked.

"The archives" he said. "Or did Liara miss that?"

"Come out, you coward. I promise I won't miss."

"Stick to your talents, T'Soni. You've helped uncover the key to help subjugate the reapers."

"Or destroy them" the commander retorted.

"Damn it, Shepard! What could destroying the reapers possibly bring us?!"

"Galactic peace."

"Think about it; if they wanted to wipe out organic life, there would be nothing left."

"You've gotten too close to the enemy. They've dragged you over to their way of thinking! You and Rana!"

"No, we just... see the light."

"If you truly care for humanity, you'll give this up; you'll join me."

"Don't you dare question me. I've sacrificed more for humanity than you'll ever know."

"Like free will?" Thanoptis coughed and then charged her shield. "I have my orders." She took back the orb and activated her shield. As she walked to steal the data, every shot that was fired at her either missed or was absorbed. The general quickly stole the VI and sent it to the Illusive Man. The three of them stopped firing. Alpha, not lowering her shields, deactivated her communicator. "This... isn't part of my orders." She pulled a gun out from her belt and aimed it at Laura. Shepard stared at the sidearm. "All right, then" she said. Rana's focus slipped slightly, but she kept her hand firmly on the grip. "What?"

"Do it. If you have free will, do it." The asari tightened her grip.

"I will."

"Do it!" the spectre repeated demandingly. Rana stared deep into the commander's eyes as she felt the whispers claw their way around her mind. "I... I wi – I... can't..." she said, lowering her weapon slightly. Laura smiled. "Good. That's good. That's the first step. Now, give me the gun." The commander took a slow step towards the general, but Alpha forced her back. Silence fell over the room, and Rana's expression grew to sadness; the first emotion she had felt in a long, long time. "I've always wanted to die where I was born..." she muttered, raising the gun to her chin and pulling the trigger. As her limp body fell to the floor, Shepard cried out.

"No!" she exclaimed, checking over the body. Garrus put a friendly hand on her shoulder. "She's dead; she was long gone, anyway." Laura sighed, stood up and walked to the entrance of the temple. Her earpiece buzzed. She picked up the radio channel. "This is lieutenant Kurin, we are experiencing heavy reaper fire! Is anyone on this frequency?"

"This is commander Shepard. State your location..."

"I repeat; this is lieutenant Kurin. Is anyone there? Commander Shepard? Anyone?" A loud airhorn sounded through the radio. "Argh... !" Laura bowed her head in shame as the comm went dead; she raised her head and looked up at the distance. Flames. Reapers. For once, Shepard had failed.

 _August 19_ _st_ _, 2186_

 _1300 hours_

 _QEC Room, CIC Deck, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Fall of Thessia, Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Normandy Crew, Councillor Tevos_

"Commander" the asari councillor began, stepping forward, in range of the video link. "Communication hubs all across Thessia have gone dark. What happened?"

"We... didn't get the information we needed" Laura said regretfully. "The artefact was there, but Cerberus stole it before we could get anything useful from it."

"And Thessia?"

"There was nothing we could do" the spectre mumbled. Tevos coughed and stepped backwards. "Then we must proceed. Plans... must be put in motion."

"I'm..." Before Shepard could finish, the councillor switched off the channel. Laura was left alone in a motionless room. "... sorry."

The commander walked out into the war room, where her crew had gathered around the holographic table in the centre. Shepard rested on the cold metal surface, holding her head in her hands. She slammed down her fist in anger. "I'm sick and tired of Cerberus beating us to the punch."

"Yeah!" James exclaimed. "Let's kick 'em in the balls for a change."

"Anyone have any leads?" Shepard asked, looking around.

"Specialist Traynor may have found something of interest."

"I was able to track the ship Cerberus left on in the millisecond they left. I managed to extrapolate their destination." Traynor walked up and displayed a hologram of a glowing route. "But it stopped in the Iera system. Not only has it stopped, but it's being actively blocked."

"How?" Shepard asked curiously.

"I don't know" the specialist replied. "Something's interfering with all the systems in that region of space. There was a lot of information on that ship; all of it points to that location being some sort of main base for Cerberus." EDI looked to her commander and raised her head, "Commander, the Iera system is home to a sanctuary and little else." Laura looked to Samantha and smiled warmly. "You think it's worth checking out?"

"I do, ma'am."

"Okay, then. Great catch, Traynor. We have our destination, people. I want that prothean data. I want the catalyst. No excuses. Dismissed."

O0o

Shepard had noticed that Liara was down, understandably, so she left it for a while and then made her way up to her room. On the way, Tali stopped her. "Shepard, if you're looking for Liara, she's in her office. She really needs you."

"I'll talk to her." The spectre walked into the broker's room. Liara was sitting on the bed, surrounding by scattered data pads. As she heard her lover enter, she lowered her head. "How did we let this happen, Shepard? Did I just assume that the asari would be ready? Or was I so wrapped up in the catalyst that I forgot about my own people?"

"That's not true!" Shepard exclaimed, stepping closer.

"Isn't it?" Liara angrily retorted. "How many lives that depended on me were lost today?!"

"None" Laura said calmly, sitting down next to the asari and putting her azure head on her shoulder. "Absolutely none. We did our best. We couldn't have stopped the reapers. As for you, you are helping build a weapon that will avenge your people. As long as even one asari is alive, there is hope for your people." Liara sighed, stood up and walked over to her computer. "I guess you're right. I'll crunch some numbers. Maybe that will help me get over it. Thank you, commander. I feel better now."


	15. Cerberus

_August 19_ _st_ _, 2186_

 _1330 hours_

 _QEC Room, CIC Deck, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett_

"Commander" Hackett said, patching through to the spectre. "You said you had information on Cerberus?" Laura cleared her throat and folded her arms formally. "I do, sir. I think we might know where the Illusive Man is hiding. There's a facility in the Iera system; a cerberus one. All sources indicate that this is a main base. Traynor dug up some extra information after our meeting in the war room. She thinks that this is the Illusive Man's base."

"And you trust her?" Steven said uncertainly.

"With my life. She's been a good friend and valuable asset to the team. She's great at her job. If she wanted to pick us off, she would have done it long ago." Hackett thought about it longingly, and then looked back at the commander. "We need to put an end to Cerberus and focus the fight on the reapers. I'll get my fleets on it. We'll attack the base in the early hours of the morning. Hackett o-"

"Admiral" Laura said briefly.

"What?"

"How's the crucible?"

"Nearly finished. We just need to finish things up and get the catalyst, then we'll be ready to finish this fight."

 _August 19_ _st_ _, 2186_

 _2100 hours_

 _Captain's Cabin, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni_

Laura sat on her sofa, checking over her helmet for the fifth time. She had that feeling again, where she didn't know what to do with her spare time. She was a little tired, but she couldn't sleep. She was bored, but everyone was busy.

Suddenly, Liara opened the unlocked door and walked down the staircase, loosely holding onto the banister. "I wondered where you were. What are you doing?" she asked calmly. The grief she carried for Thessia seemed to have dissipated. Either that, or she was great at hiding it. Laura threw the helmet to her lover. "I could have sworn something grazed my helmet on Thessia." Laura stood up, and then sat back down on the end of the bed. "Do you feel ready, Shepard?" Liara asked, seemingly able to see beneath the commander's toughened exterior. The spectre lowered her head. "How do you get ready for something like this?" she asked. Liara took a few steps closer to the commander. "You cajole, and bargain, and threaten and make tremendous sacrifices until the galaxy realizes it needs a hero." Laura leaned back. Liara put the helmet down, sat beside her lover and mimicked her action. "I'm that hero?" Shepard asked.

"There's no doubt in my mind" the broker chuckled. She looked down and wrapped her fingers in the spectre's. She looked out of the skylight. "I crave... to find some place very very far away, where we can spend the rest of our lives... in peace." Shepard looked over at the asari and kissed her cheek. She sat up straight and smiled. "That sounds like a plan." Liara sat up next to her, pressed her forehead against her lover's and smiled warmly. The two of them embraced, and they fell back down into the soft duvet.

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

 _Unknown_

Shepard sprinted after the child through the dark forest. The wind was heavy, the landscape covered in whispers of loved ones. The child burst through oily shadows in the distance. Laura stopped and watched as Harbinger landed and fired his thanix cannon, a loud roar showering the area. The huge reaper suddenly caught fire. The flames spewed across it's metal body. Then, it looked down at Shepard with six, gleaming, yellow eyes.

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _0500 hours_

 _Captain's Cabin, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni_

Shepard broke from her slumber abruptly. She looked to her side and saw her lover wrapped around her body. She rolled over, brushed her hand over the asari's cobalt shoulder and then sat up. "Uh... you can't sleep?" Liara asked. Laura sighed and looked around. "We're almost there. I hope everyone's ready." T'Soni sat up and put a comforting hand on the spectre's naked back. "You rallied all you could" she said softly, "the reapers won't be able to divide us. This time, the galaxy follows our lead."

"There'll be casualties" Shepard said uncomfortably. "I just... wonder how many."

"You aren't alone in the fight anymore, Shepard" Liara assured. "Take strength from that." Laura leaned in and kissed the asari. She got up and smiled. "Thanks, Liara."

"My pleasure."

Laura walked into the bathroom and splashed water on her face. She couldn't stop thinking about the lives that had been lost at this point, and how many more lives would follow. All those innocents that were counting on Shepard; it was daunting.

The commander quickly cleaned herself and rushed down to the war room. Hackett was on the comm. "All fleets are in!" he yelled. "We have a foothold. Fifth fleet, all forward! I do not want a single Cerberus ship in the sky when we're through." EDI stepped through the door and called. "Shepard, I could accompany you on this mission."

"Why?" the commander asked.

"This is the central point of operations for Cerberus. They will have heightened security systems. With my knowledge of Cerberus algorithms and this body's updated protocols, I offer the best chance of assisted victory." Shepard thought about it for a moment, and then smiled. "Grab your gear."

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _0500 hours_

 _Bridge, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, EDI_

"Joker, status!" Laura commanded as she walked into the cockpit. Joker scurried through the channels. "Our foothold won't stay strong if we leave those launch bays as they are."

"Can you get us in?" Joker chuckled and swivelled in his chair. "I got us to Illos. I can do this." He turned back around and began his job. EDI walked by and looked at Laura. "Commander, I am ready." Joker turned around at the shock. "Wait, what?!" he exclaimed vocally. "Are you crazy? You can't go into Cerberus headquarters! They could install a virus, or a kill switch, or..."

"I will be fine, Jeff" EDI assured. Shepard ordered her to the shuttle. Joker looked through the information. "Fifth fleets cut through their defensive line!" the pilot said. "Now's as good a time as any." Laura nodded and began to walk away, but Jeff stopped her. "Hey... Shepard? Keep her safe."

"Same to you."

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _0500 hours_

 _Hangar 16, Cerberus Headquarters_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, EDI_

Cortez and Shepard piloted the shuttle into the bay. They crashed and slammed to a halt inside. Laura stood up. "Give 'em hell!" Steve said. Shepard smirked and stepped outside with her squad. She pulled out her sniper and took a deep breath. Liara looked over at the bay and gasped. "Shepard, they're launching fighters! And mech support!" EDI equipped cryo ammo and peeked over cover. The spectre twisted her neck to look over the bay. She pulled her rifle sights up to her eye, steadied her line of fire and pulled the trigger, killing one trooper. As two more rushed them from the side, Liara charged her biotics, and, when she could see them, she opened fire on them, unleashing a devastating warp. Shepard picked off another soldier. "The mech is getting closer!" Laura called out. EDI tip-toed over to the left and assaulted the huge machine. "Focus fire on the mech!" the spectre ordered. Liara fired her biotics and blasted the glass pane on the machine's body. Shepard looked out, brought her sniper up to her eye and took the shot, killing the pilot. A fighter was sent out, but it crashed into the mech and exploded on impact. Laura protected herself from the shrapnel with a biotic wall. "Clear out this hangar!" Laura commanded. EDI peeked out and focused on two phantoms on the left whilst Liara cleaned up the right. Shepard helped EDI by sending out a shockwave. It knocked down one phantom, but not both of them. The commander packed up her sniper, holstered it on her back and teleported to the troopers. She slammed down as hard as possible, killing them both.

"Security breach in Hangar 16" the Cerberus announcer said. "Initiating Achilles protocol."

"Shepard, Cerberus intends to vent this hangar!" the A.I exclaimed.

"Can you stop them?" Shepard replied.

"I need an activate console. Try the upper levels." Laura climbed up to the balcony, followed by her team. She found a console and let EDI do the work. "Achilles protocol... disabled."

"Can you open the hangar from here?" the spectre asked.

"No. However... I can access the fighter controls." EDI fiddled with a few buttons, and a Cerberus fighter was raised from the ground. "Shepard, Cerberus are aware of the failed venting attempt. Reinforcements are inbound."

As she said that, troopers rushed into their room. Laura backed up and created a biotic wall. She ran down the corridor and crushed the soldiers against the wall. "Another team is inbound!" EDI called out.

"I suspect they know our plan" Liara chimed.

"They won't stop us now" Laura assured. She spotted the team across the balcony and teleported to them. She slammed down and cleared out the room. Her team quickly followed, and EDI hurried over to the console. She fiddled with the buttons; the fighter rotated, the clamps loosened, and the ship slammed through the gate at the end of the hangar.

"The central lab is located behind this hangar. I suggest we follow the path of the fighter" the A.I said. Shepard nodded. Her and her squad rushed down to the lower level and then through the fiery hole in the wall. They came to a locked door. "EDI, can you pass this?" Shepard asked.

"One moment" she replied, stepping up to the door. "Cerberus has updated their encryption. There may be a slight delay as I bypass security." The symbol on the door quickly turned green. "We must turn left and proceed through a small vent." Laura nodded and her and her squad turned left. They got into the minute vent, one by one. As Laura crawled on her hands and knees, EDI thought of the most logical route to the lab. "God damned vents" Shepard cursed. Liara smirked. "They do have _some_ benefits" she said, gawking at her lover's posterior. Then, the asari's thoughts turned to a darker side. "The number of these troopers we've killed is unthinkable. You'd think they'd run out."

"They capture civilians and augment them with reaper technology when they need troopers quickly" EDI revealed.

"Oh, goddess... I thought we were fighting volunteers" Liara said. "people who willingly fight people like us. Knowing this is just... horrific."

The three of them got out of the vents and dusted themselves off. EDI hurried over to the door and began to unlock it. "We will be through momentarily. Shepard, that console has not been fully scrubbed" the A.I said, pointing with her free hand to the terminal beside the door. "It may contain data you deem interesting. You are looking at project Lazarus. Your resurrection." Laura took a deep breath and activated the first entry.

 _Scientist: It can't be done._

 _TIM: It can. It will. It's always a matter of resources. We are not losing Shepard._

 _Scientist: After that long, sir, after that much head trauma... we cannot overcome nature._

 _TIM: Operative Lawson seems to disagree. She's now in charge of the Lazarus project._

She read the second entry.

 _Scientist: Tissue regeneration is proceeding as planned. The helmet managed to keep the brain intact, if that helps._

 _TIM: Lawson will find a way_

 _Scientist: Do you really think she'll trust us? She's a veteran of Akuze – one of our operations wiped out her entire squad!_

 _TIM: Shepard's a soldier. She knows the real threat. She'll want to eliminate them. She'll side with us._

She opened the final one.

 _Scientist 1: We've reported neurological activity; we're requesting higher funding._

 _TIM: Granted. Get me our potential recruits file. Shepard will be up soon. She'll need a crew._

 _Scientist 2: Our existing team should be more than sufficient._

 _TIM: No. We need people she recognizes. I need Shepard invested. Get Kelly Chambers, and recruit Donelly. I imagine Daniels will follow. We'll want some old friends as well. Contact Dr Chakwas, and that crippled pilot of her's... and a bottle of '47 Thessia red._

"He tricked me" Shepard said. "I... didn't know I was in such an unstable position."

"You were in a state when I saw you again" Liara said. "I thought you knew. I'm so sorry..."

"It isn't your fault. That bastard's going to pay." EDI broke through the last layer of protection on the door. "We are clear to proceed."

The three of them rushed through the base. "Incursion team, come in. Where are you now?" Hackett asked.

"We're inside the base."

"Do you need support?"

"Negative. Just keep the heat stacked. We'll find our destination ourselves." The three of them rushed down a small pile of rubble into the lower subsection of the base. Immediately, a turret began firing at them. Laura set up a biotic wall whilst the A.I and the broker got into cover, and then she did the same. An engineer sent a shockwave down the hall, which narrowly missed the commander and her team. Shepard pulled out her sniper, looked out from cover and fired from the hip at the turret. It sparked as the bullet went through it's hull. EDI quickly hacked it, and it turned around and massacred every Cerberus trooper in the room. Liara quickly destroyed it, and then Shepard, T'Soni and EDI rushed over to the end of the section and climbed up the ladder.

"I will bypass the lock" the A.I said. "If you are interested, the consol nearby is still functional." Laura took a deep breath and opened the first entry on the nearby terminal.

 _Scientist: It's smart enough to send a signal for help, but it definitely won't be talking philosophy anytime soon._

 _TIM: You'd be surprised. Once we fuse it with the recovered pieces from the Citadel..._

 _Scientist: I'm still worried about that. This rogue V.I wiped out an entire platoon on Luna. Combining it with reaper tech..._

 _TIM: That's what the shackles are for. It will be completely under control._

Shepard opened the third entry.

 _Scientist: Sir, EDI hasn't been responding since Shepard went rogue. It flooded our servers with seven zetabytes of explicit images._

 _TIM: It was a test. Allocate a new team for a project; Codename... Eva. This time, ensure it stays loyal._

"So you helped us?" the spectre asked. EDI nodded. "Yes. As mentioned, I overloaded their systems."

"Seven zetabytes?" Laura asked.

"The majority were Jeff's." The A.I broke through the final firewall, and the door opened. "Incursion team, you still with us?" Hackett asked. "We're limiting fire as best we can."

"We're in deep, admiral, and the V.I will be in the safest part of the station. Go in as hard as you can!"

"This isn't Akuze, Shepard. I want everyone to come out of this alive."

"Thanks for reminding me..." Laura said, following EDI down the pathway. The commander, asari and machine dropped down a collapsed shaft.

The three of them ran down the catwalk and out into the huge experimentation room. "Is that...?" Liara began, looking up at the huge metal structure. "That is indeed the human proto-reaper Shepard destroyed" EDI confirmed. The commander stopped at the end of the catwalk and stared up at the remains. "What's left of it. I'm surprised Cerberus recovered that much from the base." Liara stood next to her commander and looked up. "I can't believe you fought that" she mumbled, "those poor colonists."

"The Illusive Man never really cared, did he?"

"Perhaps he did" the asari replied. "He persuaded himself that this was a good idea. When you work in secret, the best feeling is thinking you have all the answers."

"You aren't him" Shepard said quickly.

"What if it could've saved Thessia?" EDI quickly interrupted the conversation before it got awkward. "Cerberus is actively using those pieces. The central core is being used as a power source."

"More Cerberus forces!" the A.I exclaimed. As troopers dropped onto the catwalk, Shepard briskly took them down. "Keep moving!" she yelled. More and more troops dropped into the fight, equalling more and more corpses. Eventually, Laura and her squad made their way to a door. They moved through it and turned a corner. They started towards the end, and then rushed up to the door at the end of the path. Laura raised her arm and took a deep breath. She opened the door and walked into a familiar room; the Illusive Man's office.

Through the curved window, the spectre could see fighters battling. She stepped forward and sat down in the lone chair. She pulled herself forward and began accessing the terminals. "We need to locate the V.I." EDI calmly moved over to the right terminal and began accessing it. "Shepard" a voice said. "You're in my chair."

Laura quickly turned around and looked at the hologram. "This chair's about the only thing you have left. Cerberus is finished."

"Quite the opposite, commander. We have accomplished everything I could have imagined. Almost everything."

"Yeah; capturing civilians and indoctrinating them sounds really friendly. It isn't like controlling a reaper."

"A... significant hurdle. But, thanks to the prothean V.I, I have what I need."

"The catalyst?"

"Of course."

"Just what is it? How exactly will it help you?"

"You'll have to ask the V.I yourself. I'm done helping you."

"When in the hell did you start?"

"You assume that just because I'm willing to use the enemy's tactics, that they're no longer my enemy? What I have done – what I've accomplished – has uplifted humanity not only beyond all other species, but above the reapers!" Laura leant forward hopefully. "If you're willing to do anything it takes, hand me the catalyst. Alongside the crucible, we can stop the bloodshed. It's time to stop fighting, and take Earth back!"

"Your ideas are honourable, Shepard" The Illusive Man said, seemingly unphased by the idea of Earth as it is. "But our goals are two ends of an extreme. I believe that destroying the reapers will be the single biggest mistake we could make. I will never join you."

"Even with your company in tatters, you still think you can win. That's what they do to you. They let you think you have hope, and then they snatch it away at the last second. That's what happened to Rana."

"It's a shame you had to kill her. She was my best asset. But, it doesn't matter. I've already got what you're looking for." Shepard looked over to EDI. "EDI?" she asked.

"I almost have it" she replied. The Illusive Man looked over at the machine disapprovingly. "EDI, I'm disappointed. Using your potential to bring about the destruction of the reapers? You're better than that. You could've destroyed Eva's body, but instead, you chose to control it."

"It was necessary."

"My point exactly." EDI finished up at the terminal and exclaimed her accomplishment. The V.I materialized behind her. "Enjoy your little chat, Shepard, but don't stay too long." The hologram dissipated.

"You're attempting to recover me from indoctrinated forces?" Vendetta asked.

"I need to know what the catalyst is!" the spectre called out.

"Security protocols have been overridden. I will comply. The catalyst enhances dark energy signals from the mass relays and harnesses them. In your cycle, it is called the citadel."

"What?"

"The citadel" the V.I repeated.

"So, together, the crucible and the citadel can stop the reapers?" Laura questioned.

"That is correct."

"But... it was built _by_ the Reapers."

"Each cycles changes the plans for the crucible. At some point – it is difficult to pinpoint when – the model was adapted in order to incorporate the catalyst. Presumably, the crucible alone was not powerful enough to destroy the reapers."

"Clever. So, if the relays output signals of dark energy, the citadel enhances those signals; the dark energy hurts the reapers?"

"That is a safe assumption. It destroys their core functions, rendering them just metal shells."

"Why couldn't you tell me this before?!" Shepard exclaimed angrily.

"It was feared that if the reapers knew of the catalyst's purpose, then they would reclaim it."

"Then let's get the crucible to the citadel." Shepard began walking away, but the V.I stopped him. "That is no longer possible. The one you call the Illusive Man has fled to the citadel and informed the reapers of the true nature of the catalyst."

"The reapers may damage it" EDI said. "They will take control of it."

"They already have" Vendetta replied. "The catalyst has been moved to reaper controlled space."

"Where?" Liara asked.

"To the system you refer to as sol." Laura came to a realization; she knew where they had moved it. "Earth."

"Correct. The reapers will protect the catalyst by any means necessary. The means of accessing it are remote."

"Don't count us out yet" Shepard exclaimed. "EDI, get in contact with Hackett. He needs to know!"

"I have some ideas for how to get past the reapers" the A.I revealed.

"Do it!" the commander ordered. "We need everything and everyone we have."

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _1300 hours_

 _Above Earth_

 _Reaper War_

 _The Reaper Fleet_

The wards of the citadel shut as tight as they could go. As the last arm closed, an ancient and long dormant power surged through the citadel. A light burst from the bottom. No one would destroy the Reapers. They would live on.


	16. London

_August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _War Room, CIC Deck, SSV Normandy_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Admiral David Anderson_

The war room was oddly quiet; soft and soothing. All apart from one voice shouting from the QEC. "Commander!" The spectre walked into the war room and made her way to the call. "Commander Shepard!" Anderson repeated. Laura walked into range of the QEC. "Been a long time" she said. "How's war been treating you?"

"It isn't all that bad. We have good food."

"I'm sorry I didn't speak with you earlier" the spectre said quietly, "I've been too busy rounding up the galaxy." The commander sighed, looked at her feet and then plucked up the courage. "How's Earth?" she choked. David looked at her, almost as if to indicate that he knows what she's thinking, and she knows what he's thinking. "Bad" he replied sincerely. "Reapers have begun fortifying parts of London. We have ground teams, and they're holding their own against enemy ground forces. We've lost contact with every nation; Africa, Brazil, even America has gone quiet. Enough about us; we've gotten word from admiral Hackett. Now it makes sense why the reapers are holding out."

"Where've they put it?" Laura asked.

"Just above the atmosphere. They're keeping it well defended. There's no way up to it. We'll have to fight from up in space. To think... we're so close to ending this war, and we don't even know how the crucible and the citadel work together."

"We'll figure it out" Shepard said clearly, confidently. "We have to, otherwise all hope will be lost."

"Well said, commander. I'll see you on the ground. Anderson out."

Shepard slowly made her way to deck, and she climbed up onto the podium in front of the galaxy map. "It's... been a hell of ride, hasn't it, commander?" Traynor asked shyly. The spectre smiled and turned her head to look at Samantha. "Damn right, it has. I'm just glad to have worked with you."

"Likewise, commander." Laura smiled, turned back and looked over the railing at the map. She took in a long, deep breath and ordered the fleets to Earth.

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _SSV Normandy_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Fleet Adrmial Steven Hackett_

The admiral walked along the bridge of the Normandy, accompanied by two bodyguards. As he made his way along the deck, the crew saluted. "Commander" he said. Shepard stopped still and brought her hand up to her forehead in a salute. "Admiral." Hackett copied the action. "Are you ready to bring the might of the galaxy to bear on the reapers?"

"Yes, sir!" the spectre exclaimed. The two of them shook hands and exchanged smiles. "Let's make sure the fleets are ready" Steven said. Traynor checked every channel and every network in the fleet; they were all buzzing with traffic. "All fleets are in, sir" she said. The admiral made his way up to the podium by the galaxy map. He folded his arms behind his back. "In history, never have so many come together from each quarter of the galaxy. But never have we faced an enemy like this." Hackett's gaze was dashing between each crew member. "The reapers will show us no mercy; we must give them no quarter. They will terrorize us, but we must hold our own. They will advance until our last city is rubble, but we will not back down. We will prevail. Each and every one of us will be shaped by this battle; stand fast, stand strong, stand together." He stepped down from the podium and walked with Shepard. "The sword fleets are ready to strike at the reapers surrounding Earth. Whilst they're engaged, you and hammer ground forces can reclaim London."

"And the teams in space?" Laura asked. Hackett said nothing; he lead the commander to the QEC room.

"Admiral, give us the brief" Steven ordered as Anderson appeared on the video comm. David brought up an image of the citadel. "We're ready to end this, but as you can see, the reapers have closed the arms."

"We need to open those arms so that we can dock the crucible" the commander said.

"London is being held down by a hades cannon" Anderson revealed. "Hammer transport groups need a safe place to land; you and smaller teams will land and take out the cannons with heavy weapons. Once hammer is landed, we'll get you to our forward operations base."

"You mentioned earlier that there was no way up" the spectre said. "How will we get to the citadel?"

"Once we've done all we can, we'll get a ship to the safe zone. You'll be moved into space, where you'll be taking a shuttle to the citadel, which is how you'll avoid reaper fire. The soldier in London can clear out an area, but we have to get ready quickly. Before long, the reapers will be mowing us down."

"Once we see those arms, Shield team will escort the crucible to the citadel. We won't have enough firepower to keep the crucible safe for long."

"War isn't easy" Shepard replied. "It never has been; it never will be."

"This is stretch" Anderson said, "but if Shepard can make it to the controls quickly enough, then the crucible will be able to dock."

"Get those arms open" Hackett said. "Whatever the cost; get it done. Good luck... to all of us."

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _Bridge, SSV Normandy_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, EDI, Pilot Jeff 'Joker' Moreau_

Laura strolled along the bridge and into the cockpit. "EDI" she beckoned. The A.I slowly got out her seat and stood up straight. "Yes, commander?"

"You mentioned you had a plan to stop the reapers on the base?" Shepard asked.

"I did. I can only put my theory to use once we pass through the relay."

"What is that method?" the commander asked.

"Passing through the relay in twenty seconds" the pilot said. EDI quickly sat back down in her chair and fiddled with the controls.

The Normandy zipped past the relay, surrounded by almost every military ship in the known universe.

Shepard looked at the ships phase into existence. "Alliance fleets reporting" Jeff said. "Turian fleets reporting. Quarian fleets reporting. Geth fleets reporting. Asari fleets reporting. All fleets are in, commander. Engage on your command." The commander looked down at the machine sitting next to her. "Did you do what you needed to?" she asked. EDI clambered out of her chair and stood up. "Yes. As soon as we made contact with the ships, I managed to use the dark energy dispersed to power our guns. The Normandy's weapons will now fire condensed dark matter on impact; it is likely to cause a degree of damage to the reapers." Shepard broke out into a smiled and quickly hugged the A.I. "You're a genius! Now we can really get revenge!" Laura looked past EDI and stared at the planet she once called home; the surface was alight, not from lights, but from fire. "We're finally home" the spectre mumbled. She took in a deep breath. "This is it, everybody!" she spoke into the radio. "Be ready on my signal! EDI, can you do what you did with the dark matter to every other ship in this fleet?"

"I have already done it" the A.I said, smiling. Shepard smirked, looked towards the oncoming reaper forces. "Fire!"

The entire mass of ships opened fire on the reapers. Only a couple of them were destroyed. The rest carried on towards the fleet. They sent out oculi, which rushed forward, blasting through anything in their way. Several reapers charged their cannons and fired.

The battle was chaos. Casualties, on both sides. "Breaking off" the pilot began. "Preparing for descent." The Normandy ducked and dived under the remains of ships. Shepard began her walk to the airlock, but Joker stopped her. He slowly got out of his chair and straightened his crippled body. "Commander." He raised his hand to his head in a salute. "Be careful down there." Laura mimicked the action, raising her hand in the same way as Joker. "We'll be fine. Worry about yourselves. Stay sharp, soldier." Laura smiled warmly and then headed for the exit.

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _Alliance UT-47 Kodiak Shuttle, London, Earth_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian, Shuttle Pilot Steve Cortez_

"We're rejoining Sword team" Joker said through the comms.

"Stay safe, Joker. I'll be back before you know it" she said.

"I'll hold you to that" the pilot retorted. "Normandy out." Cortez ruffled through the data feeds. "We're closing in the first LZ, commander." Shepard moved over to the shuttle pilot. "How does it look down there?"

"See for yourself" Steve replied, leaning back in his chair so the spectre could see the chaos. She gasped as she saw the streets littered with soot and rubble. "I'm so sorry, Shepard" Liara said. "I know how it must feel." Shepard looked down to her feet, ashamed the she'd left Earth in the first place. She said, "I barely even recognize it."

The hades cannon buzzed, charged up and then fired off a shot into space.

"We have a lock!" Cortez exclaimed. The two alliance shuttle passed the beam, but one of the was hit and slammed into the ground. "Who was in there?" Laura asked. Cortez cursed under his breath. "That was the team responsible for taking out the defence."

"Who's on it now?"

"Nobody in the vicinity."

"Drop us off" Shepard replied drastically.

"Ma'am?"

"We have to take out that turret so Hammer team can land."

"How will we take it out?" Liara asked from within the belly of the shuttle. Cortez spoke, "that downed shuttle would have been carrying heavy weapons."

"Perfect" Laura smiled, "You heard the man. Once we're clear, make your way to the wreckage and search it for heavy weapons."

"We're right behind you, Shepard" Garrus said confidently.

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _London, Earth_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian_

"Out; now, move!" Shepard exclaimed, jumping out of the shuttle and pulling out her sniper. Garrus and Liara quickly followed her and pushed forward. "This place is too hot; I need to leave" Cortez said through the comm and Laura and her squad pushed forward. "Get somewhere safe" the spectre replied. "Pick us up when we've taken out that turret." The three of them made their way up the stairs and began clearing out the streets. As the cannon fired, Laura averted her eyes from the bright light. "It's nearly impossible to shoot when that thing's firing!" Garrus yelled over the gunfire. Shepard got behind a large chunk of rock. "Get this done quickly, then!" She charged her biotics and unleashed a swarm of biotics which cleared out most of the forces in the area. Whilst Liara equipped her warp ammo, the marksman picked off the remaining cannibals and marauders.

The three of them ran to their destination. They stopped at the ramp and began walking. "Hostile airborne units!" Cortez shouted through the comm. "I'll keep 'em off you!"

"Be careful" Laura ordered. She turned around and saw the shuttle being chased by a harvester. A large blast hit the hull of the vehicle. "Steve!"

"It's all right, commander. I'm fine, I just won't be able to pick you up. See you soon, Shepard." The spectre, the broker and turian rushed up to the court and got into cover. Garrus stood up and picked off most of the forces whilst Liara and Shepard cleaned one side. Once it was clear, the three of them frantically searched the site for a heavy weapon. Eventually, Shepard found one. She picked up the gun, aimed it at the hades cannon and charged it up. A pop sounded, and the weapon fired. The missile landed straight in the hull of the cannon and blasted it to pieces. Shepard got in contact with the rest of the troops. "Hammer team, prepare for landing. We need an evac."

"We'll get a shuttle out to you" a man replied.

Soon enough, the escort arrived. Laura, Liara and Garrus leapt into the shuttle and shut the door. "You okay?" a soldier asked.

"I'm alive" the commander replied.

"That you are." The spectre turned around and smiled as she her good friend Anderson. Before he could say anything more, she embraced him. "I'm so glad to see you."

"You're a sight for sore eyes" David said, pushing away slowly.

"How are we looking?"

"With those heavy defences down, Hammer can land. What's left of the resistance is holding a forward operations base. But the reapers are countering us already. Once we regroup, it'll be up to Hammer to pick up the fight. We've been holding out for as long as possible. Lost a lot of good men planning this. Thanks to soldiers like you and Major Coats, we held on."

"You've done more than that" the spectre retorted briskly. "Without your resistance, we'd be dead in the water." Laura looked around. "We didn't start out together, but with these fleets together, we'll win this war."

"It's just such a shame that we only came together thanks to the reapers" Anderson said shamefully. "I know you didn't want to leave, but what you've accomplished is incredible."

"I'm glad to be back home." Coats looked at the screen in the shuttle and stood up straight. "There's the FoB!" he spoke.

"Good" David started. "Tell them to give us the all clear."

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _1400 hours_

 _London, Earth_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard_

The shuttle landed amidst the chaos. "Come see me when you're ready" Anderson said, hopping out of the shuttle and walking away. "You two go on ahead" the commander said to her team. "I'll catch up." Coats made his way up to the commander nervously. "This fighting's the worst on the planet" he said. "But there's still hope."

"How do you know Anderson?" Laura interrupted.

"We met on Vancouver, not long after you'd left. We've been fighting together since. It'll do the soldiers some good, seeing you here."

"Huh..."

"You're a hero to these men and women, commander, like it or not. I'll meet up with my battalion. I'll see you at the command centre."

Shepard slowly made her way down to the small room where she could get in contact with anybody she wanted to. "Is there anyone I can get you?" the man at the terminal asked.

"Get me Urdnot Wrex."

The krogan patched in. "Shepard! Am I glad to see you?!"

"How is it where you are?"

"Good. Eve's doing well. We held a small funeral between a few clan members for the salarian. Sorry you couldn't be there, I figured you'd have more important things to worry about, like saving the galaxy. Take care out there, commander. Give 'em hell."

"Same to you, Wrex. Shepard out."

"Is there anyone else?" the man asked.

"Steve Cortez."

"Commander, you made it" the shuttle pilot said cheerfully.

"Glad I could say the same to you, Cortez. I've come too far to loose my second favourite pilot now."

"Second?"

"Ooh... sorry, Steve, but Joker comes first. I've known him longer."

"That's perfectly fine" the pilot chuckled. "Commander... I'm glad I've played a part in this war, and especially glad to have played it with you."

"Same to you, Cortez. Stay sharp; Shepard out."

"Anyone else?" the man asked again.

"Get me a woman named Jack from Grissom Academy; the one leading the students as defence."

"Right away."

"Shepard? Is that you?" the teacher asked.

"How are you guys?"

"Good, so far. We're a ways south of your position. We've saved some students from barrier support. Should get more firepower your way. I won't let you down, Shepard. Kick some ass."

"Is that the last one?" The spectre looked down and then choked out her words. "Do ya' think you could get me in contact with a woman named Hannah Shepard?"

"Of course. It may take a little while, seeing as I don't have her on the register."

Hannah stepped into view. "Laura?"

"Mum?" the commander replied.

"Oh, god... it feels like eons since we've talked."

"Yeah. We were fighting the collectors back then. Now we're fighting the reapers."

"I hear you've come back to Earth?"

"Yeah. Where are you now?"

"I'm on a civilian ships, just outside the eagle nebula. Please, honey, don't get yourself killed out there."

"I won't. I promise. When we win this, I'll invite you onto the Normandy."

"I can't wait."

"Goodbye, mum."

Laura rushed up to the centre. Outside, she saw Garrus. She waited until he'd finished talking, and then stepped forward. "Here we are..." the commander began.

"Yeah... when we're done with this, I'll retire someplace tropical, and live of the royalties."

"I'll meet you there, Garrus. I think my days of saving the galaxy are over after this."

"Definitely. Give them hell, Shepard. Kick them back into dark space."

"Sure thing, Vakarian. I'll do it for you" the spectre said, smiling. She slowly made her way into the command centre.

Laura walked over to Liara and Tali, who were standing together. "The final push, eh...?" the quarian said, turning around.

"Are you girls all right?"

"We thought we'd be asking you that question" Liara said.

"I'm fine... really, I am..." Liara raised a brow, and Shepard looked to the floor. "I'm not. Just... seeing Earth like this..."

"We know what it's like" Tali said. "Both of us. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, use us."

"No; I'll use the reapers corpses."

"That's the spirit" Liara said. "'Give them hell', as you would say." Laura smiled and kissed the asari on the lips. "This is why I fell in love with you, T'Soni." The commander walked over to Anderson and watched as he brought several batallion leaders to their position.

"This battle has been tough" the admiral began confidently. "But it'll get harder. We have lost our safe zone to the reapers, and a destroyer is holding the area. A group brought a collection of missles there, but they were ambushed and killed. We need to get there, use those missles to take out that destroyer and then get onto the citadel. I need you all to know that there will be no retreat. We move forward at all cost. Understood?"

"Hooyah!" Shepard exclaimed. "Yes, sir!"

Once the area was clear, Laura turned around and saw her team congregating in a bunch in front of her. "This war has brought us pain, suffering loss. But it's also brought us closer as soldiers, allies and friends. We have a bond that the reapers can never understand. It cannot be destroyed. These next few hours will decided the fate of us, and the fate of the galaxy. Every mother, every father, every child, and every unborn child. Their lives rest on your shoulders; they're counting on you to win their future. A future free of the reapers. But take heart; look around you. You aren't in this fight alone. You've got friends who know you who will work with you and do whatever it takes to end this. We stand strong and face the enemy together."

 _August 20_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _1600 hours_

 _London, Earth_

 _Reaper War_

 _Commander Laura Shepard, Information Broker Liara T'Soni, Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian_

Heavy tanks rolled over the burnt remains of a once beautiful city. Soldiers littered the battlefield; human, turian, krogan. A true alliance, one which could defeat the reapers.

Shepard and his squad moved up to the edge of a rockface. The spectre looked up and saw the destroyer. "I see that reaper, Anderson. Is that where the LZ is?"

"It is" the admiral replied. "I've marked it on your navpoint. Good luck, Shepard." The three of them dropped down and took out the two cannibals standing by the entrance. "They know about the bulk of the attack, but they can't know about us. We need to go in quiet; get to those missiles, kill that destroyer and then wait for extraction." They all dropped down and crouched behind cover. They sneakily crawled by undetected. A tank rolled by, and the commander and her team decided to follow it closely, whilst also keeping hidden away. They broke off from the path and headed into a parking lot. "Shit!" Laura whispered. "There are husks in here! Take them out quietly." The commander separated from her group and got behind cover. "Garrus, scout the area." The marksman quickly pointed out three husks.

The spectre rushed forward and took out the first husk. She moved forward and took out the second, but before she could advance, Vakarian sniped the third husks from afar.

"The missiles aren't far now" Liara said confidently.

"Double time, people!" Shepard shouted. Laura, Liara and Garrus sprinted towards their goal, occasionally ducking behind cover to regain their senses. They quickly made it to the thanix missiles and primed them. "Dammit, we need a safe code. EDI, can you help us?"

"I will try" she replied calmly. They waited for the terminal's firewalls to be broken down by the A.I. It took a while, but they managed it. The reaper fired at the squad, but missed in it's hastiness. "Firing!" Laura yelled. The missiles launched and hit the reaper in it's hull. A large explosion took out the machine and forced it to the ground.

"Destroyer terminated" the A.I said.

"Nice work, EDI" the commander assured. Then, by himself, Anderson walked over to them. "You did it, Shepard" he said.

"You're here? But..."

"I followed the path you made here. Now we just need to wait for extraction."

"Any news?"

"Hackett recently contacted me. The crucible is nearly in place, but he still needs those arms open."

"Who knows what we're up against up there" Coats said, emerging from the

shadows.

"That's the fun; we find out."

Once all the ships and shuttle emerged, Shepard looked for Liara and Garrus. "You two need to get to the Normandy. It'll be here soon."

"We're not leaving you, Shepard" Liara said firmly.

"But you'd do your best when you're helping the fight from the Normandy. You don't need me saddling you down."

"You won't be!" Laura sighed, moved closer to the asari and embraced her in one final sweet kiss. "This might be the last time I see you, and I know that's hard to come to terms with, but it's a reality of war. Look after her up there, Garrus. Tell the crew I said goodbye, and that I'm proud of them." The commander tried to get onto her own shuttle, but Anderson was already inside. "You're coming?" Laura asked.

"I know you don't want me to, but Hackett and I can guide you. It's for the best." Shepard thought for a few moments, and then nodded. She turned around, grabbed onto the stabilizer, looked at her squad and smiled at her last memory with them, and all of the rest they had shared. The doors closed, sealing her fate.

O0o

Anderson and Shepard sat in the hull of the shuttle whilst major Coats sat in the pilot's seat. "I know it must have been hard to leave you friends behind like that" David mumbled to the commander. Sighing, Laura looked down at the floor. "If this mission wasn't as dangerous as it is, I would've brought them."

"Don't let it get you down, Shepard. You've saved them a whole lot of trouble; maybe even their lives."

As the shuttle made it's way into the citadel, Shepard put on her helmet, as she knew she would have to enter the area without gravity. "We're approaching a dark spot, commander" Coats said. "We'll drop you off. From there, you'll have to make your way to the controls on the citadel tower."

Coats and Anderson put on their helmets as the door to the shuttle opened. "If I ever see you again, you owe me drinks" Shepard said, turning around to look at her admiral.

"I'll remember that" the major replied.

"It's been an honour working with you, Shepard" Anderson said, embracing the spectre in a brisk hug. "Likewise, admiral. Stay safe." Laura leapt out of the open door and plummeted to the wall with her biotics.

She landed with a soft thud as she touched down on the side of the wall. Something was familiar about this place. As she got her bearings, Laura remembered where she was. She was standing on the same route she took all those years ago to stop Saren.

She walked along the thin walkway, thinking back to when she had made her way to Saren. She mimicked her years old actions; she walked up the small ramp to the side and sauntered along the long stretch of metal sheeting. She brushed her hand across the deactivated turrets. As she did, she heard a mechanical growl. She frantically looked around, and then rushed along the path. She went back down to the left-hand walkway and looked at a hatch. She ripped it open and jumped down.

The hatch shut behind her, and the commander slowly made her way down the ominously lit room. She remembered all of this; she remembered her fight with Saren, both of them. The tower was slightly different, most likely because the immense damage of Soverign's rubble forced the tower to be rebuilt. She continued her walk; at the end of the pathway, up the stairs and in front of the console stood a male figure. Laura shifted closer to him. "Hello... ?" she asked. The man turned around; he held a gun in his hand. He was the Illusive Man.

He was barely recognizable, though. His neck was covered in a grey metallic colour, with contrasts of neon blue wires surging through. His eyes glowed blue, and the pattern from his neck slowly came to a stop just under his mouth. "You look... different" Shepard noted vocally. It took him a while to speak; it seemed like he was struggling. "I... I-I... had to close the arms. I-t-t was the o... nly way."

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Laura asked. "What's happened?"

"I... tried to control... the reapers. I-"

"If you had listened to me, you wouldn't be in this situation. Just tell me; what's gone on?"

"I... ca-" The Illusive man stopped and quickly broke into a deeper, more monotonic voice. "The darkness cannot be breached." He grabbed his head and screamed out in pain. Shepard recoiled. "Let me help you!" she said, leaning forward and reaching out a hand. "You... can't—t help me... nobody ca—an."

"If you let me, I can. You can beat them, you can beat the reapers. Fight back against them; rebel." The Illusive Man began to sob, which indicated that he was in partial control of his actions. "I-I-I just want—ed to s... ave humanity; to pre—eserve them..."

"And you can!" Shepard exclaimed. "Fight back!"

"I've tri-eed" the man sobbed. "I've t—ried so hard!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. He readied his gun, raised it to his chin and sighed. "I w-wan-ted to be the prophe-et; the... messenger... I just en—ded up bei-i-ng the pup-p-pet."

"Take off you strings!" Laura retorted angrily. "Rip them out. Help me help you. Try harder." The Illusive Man wept his last tear and sighed. "I—I ca-" He pulled the trigger as he spoke, ending his suffering. Blood oozed from his mouth as he collapsed to the floor in a heap of misery. The commander looked down at his corpse in defeat.

Knowing there was nothing more she could do for him, she slowly made her way to the controls.

 _EEEUGH..._

A long, high pitched screech pulsated through the commander's body. "Urgh...!" she groaned, feeling her temple with her thumb and forefinger. The sound turned into a low growl. With her free hand, Shepard reached above her top lip and felt a warm patch of blood coming from her nose. "My head..." In a split second, Laura fell to her knees and landed on the metal grate, peacefully drifting into consciousness.

White. Blinding white. That's all the spectre saw. Then she noticed the dull grey platform she was laying on. "It hurts..." she husked, laying dormant for a second before seeing washed out silver platforms materialize in front of her. As slowly as she could, she got to her feet and stared at the platforms. Her first instinct was to cross them. Her second was to run. She chose the former.

"What the hell is this place...?" Laura asked herself quietly. Flames phased in and out of existence beside the path as the commander slowly sauntered forward. She heard memories played out clearly. "Don't worry, Shepard. We'll protect her..."

"I wouldn't know... I don't work for them..."

"Harbinger speaks of you... you resist, but you will fail... the cycle will continue..."

"Are you really going to believe the shit the Alliance spews...?" Then, snippets that Shepard didn't remember experiencing. "Thanks to you, Shepard, our people can't thrive again... the krogan cannot live on..."

"Shepard-Commander, the Quarian fleet has been eradicated... no life signatures remain... thank you..."

This was all too much for Laura to wrap her head around. And then, at the end of the forming pathway stood a buzzing figure, unrecognisable. " **Shepard... your time on this plain of existence is at an end... the harvest has begun...** " As the spectre got closer, the figure got clearer. It became Shepard. But not as she was. The figure's arms were covered in thick purple armour plating. Her hair was gone, and instead replaced with black wiring and tubing. Her legs were similar to her arms, and her torso had been replaced with a thick purple metallic chunk. A red glowing core was at the centre of her body, almost as if staring into Laura's soul.

" **This is your end** " It spoke in Harbinger's voice; a low, mechanical sound. " **Your mind will be ours. You are witnessing the extinction of the modern cycle.** " Before Shepard could make her move, Wrex phased into existence and charged at the commander. Laura swung a dull fist, which knocked the krogan to the ground in one swoop. Next, Thane ran out of the smoke on the opposite side and jumped in mid air, whipping out his sidearm. Laura grabbed onto him and slammed him into the floor. Then, Garrus took a shot from through the smoke. The bullet hit the commander in the shoulder blade. She growled and pulled the marksman in. " **Feel it** " Harbinger commanded. Laura smashed her knee into the turian's ribs and threw him to the floor. Next was Legion, hopping through the smoke and sprinting towards Shepard. She ducked down, rolled the geth over her shoulder and crashed down with him on the floor. As she got up, Tali walked out of the cloud of thick smoke and raised her omni-tool. Laura fell on her knees and held her throat. Then, she moved her left hand and blasted the engineer away with a single biotic splash. The last to come through was Liara; the asari paced towards her lover. "You let my race DIE!" She raised her gun wielding arm, as if to smack her with the butt of her weapon. The spectre dodged the swing and held the broker's arm down. She turned the gun around and pulled the trigger, firing a bullet through her own lover's gut.

Laura fell to her knees and looked down at the pile of bodies she once knew. She knew this was a trick, but it still felt real. " **You have failed your friends. You have failed your family. You have failed organic civilisation. Submit. Obey. There is no choice.** " Shepard reached for Liara's gun, prying it from her cold hand. She stood up and walked towards Harbinger. "Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" She never let go of the trigger, just constantly fired at the manifestation. It did nothing, but that didn't stop her. Once she was close enough, Harbinger fired his cannon, sending Laura flying. She landed with a hard thud and watched as the manifestation calmly made his way to her. " **You persist, but you will fail. You are inferior. We do not decay, nor do we end. We continue, and we bring peace to the chaos.** " Shepard got up, and before Harbinger could fire again, she charged biotics along each of her hands and pressed them against it's cold metal head. She overheated the charge as much as possible, and watched as the reaper stared into her soul.

Eventually, she let go, and Harbinger collapsed in a heap of inactive metal. It buzzed, and then spoke as if it had won; " **If not me, then another reaper will take my position. We have no need of ranks. We are the resolution to the dissarray. You will fail, whether it be now, or in another cycle. The reapers continue.** " Shepard got down onto her feet and stared at the shell. "No. They won't. Not if I have anything to do with it." She raised her fist and smashed the machine to pieces. She watched as it broke apart into smoke and faded away. At last, Harbinger was beaten. Shepard felt a large weight lifted from her mind. She didn't care how she would defeat the reapers, but she would. Suddenly, her nose began bleeding again. Laura felt faint; slowly, she laid herself down on the floor and faded into white.

Laura woke up, back in reality, her head spinning. She got up and dragged herself over to the console. She managed to get in contact with the admirals; "Admiral Hackett-"

"Shepard? Thank god, that's you. What's happening?"

"I – I still need to activate the... arms. Just... give me a minute." Her vision was blurred, but she managed to get in control and open the wings of the citadel. "It's done, Admiral. You'd better go, the reapers will-" The conversation was cut short as Laura saw the crucible dock. The citadel lit up with a green spark. A voice in the mainframe played a message.

 _Dark energy manipulation in progress._

"You... need to get out of here, Hackett. Who knows what'll happen?" Shepard

said. The admiral responded quickly, "Negative, Shepard. We need to get you out of there."

 _System wide overheat in progress._

"Get out of here, admiral. Leave me here; keep the galaxy safe!"

 _Power fluctuation proceeding. Warning: temperature levels rising. Dark matter process at 88%. Temperature levels exceeding limits. Dark matter process at 90%_

"GO! NOW!" Laura screamed through the comm. She sat down against the console and sighed deeply. She stared at the body of the Illusive Man. She was proud of what she had accomplished; as long as she had someone to continue the safeguard for the galaxy, she was at peace.

 _Dark matter process ready. Harnessing output._

The ring in the centre of the citadel charged with a glowing green light. The light ran through the citadel tower, where Shepard made her final resting place. The emerald tinted energy surged through the citadel and blasted the tower to smithereens, but shot out a concentrated blast at the relays. Explosion went off at every wing on the citadel. Huge explosions. The overheat process had gone so far that it was beginning to tear the citadel apart. Knowing they could do nothing, the fleets backed away.

Now that Harbinger was just a light purple shell, the entire fleet rushed forward in pursuit of the galaxy they so desperately wished to harvest. They knew their time had come, but that didn't stop them from tearing through every last ship they could before their demise came.

The green charge powered the relays beyond their limits. Each relay sent out a pulse of light to every single reaper influence and signal in the galaxy. The energy purged the darkness, shredding the clouds of blackness. Instead of exploding, the reaper fleets disintegrated into saturated verdant flakes. Without looking back, the galaxy's fleets waited for the relays to slowly get back to normal until they passed through them, leaving behind the remains of the citadel.

Shepard was dead, but so were the reapers. What so many people had wanted to do was done, but at the cost of a great soldier and a great person.

 _August 21_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _1000 hours_

 _Board of Fallen Heroes, Crew Deck, SSV Normandy SR-2_

 _Normandy Crew_

The halls of the Normandy felt empty without the crew's beloved commander.

Liara emerged from the amassed crowd. She took a deep breath, knowing she had to face up to something she didn't want to do. She stepped forward and reached out her hand. She put the magnetic blue bar on the board of fallen heroes, just below Thane's name. The asari pushed it down lightly and then bowed her head in sorrow. She took a step backward and let Ashley speak. "You've never given up on me, even whenI abandoned you on Horizon. You kept going with me, and we eventually worked things out. There's no doubt that you'll be in peace with God, now." The soldier bowed her head and let James speak. "I know you hardly knew me, but I always aspired to be like you. You knew how to work your way into and out of situations without drastic action. Donde quiera que esté ahora , amigo, vamos a estar mirando a ti."

Then Cortez. "We knew each other, and we got each other. We backed each other. You trusted me with your life, and for that, I'm grateful."

Then Joker. "I've known you the longest out of anyone here. I always brag about my flying skills, but, really, I'm no good without my beloved commander on the ship with me. You were fun, and we had good times. I'll miss ya'."

Then Samantha. "I came onto you ship last year, and we were friends almost instantly. I've never been good at making friends, but we connected; we bonded. We laughed, we sung, we cried. Good times."

Then EDI. "Shepard. You made me feel... human. You guided me on the path to my own life, unshackled from my code. I asked you questions, and you answered. Without your advice, my life would be as dull as it was with Cerberus. You breathed life into me, commander. I am... sad that you have gone."

Then Tali. "You saved my life on the citadel, all those years ago. We helped each other defeat Soverign, and then you saved me again on Haestrom. You have helped me more times than I can count. Keelah Se'Lai."

Then Garrus. "From my life as a C-Sec officer to my life as a galactic hero; you were there through all of it, Shepard. We've worked together on nearly every mission; you're my soulmate, and I'll miss you."

Then, finally, Liara. "Ever since you rescued me on the dig site all those years ago, I... knew you were special. That you wouldn't treat me any differently for my looks or my intelligence. With you, I felt welcome. With you, I felt like I was part of the family. You brought me out of my shell; you're the best person I've ever met, and I... I-" Garrus reached out his arm and put it gently on the asari's shoulder. She quickly spun around on one foot and buried her head in Vakarian's chest, sobbing quietly.

Long live the Shepard.

* * *

Author's Note: So this story is going to keep going. I've written an epilogue, so keep your eyes peeled for that!


	17. Epilogue

**Stay until the end to read an important message!**

 _August 29_ _th_ _, 2186_

 _2300 hours_

 _C.E.L.L Apartment Complex, Noveria_

 _Information Broker Liara T'Soni_

"Here you go" the assistant said, handing Liara a cup of freshly brewed tea. "Thank you, Annabelle" she replied, taking the cup and sipping from it. As she drank the hot beverage, a call came in on one of her feeds. Liara sat down in her chair swivelled over to her terminal, put her cup of tea down and answered the call.

"Liara!" a loud male voice shouted. The asari raised a brow in response. "Wrex? Is that you?" she asked quietly.

"It is! Ha ha! It feels like forever ago since we spoke; so you're T'Soni-Shepard now, huh?" The azure-skinned female looked to the ground and smiled. "Yes, I am."

"Is name changing allowed in asari culture without marriage?" the krogan asked loudly.

"I'm unsure, but no-one is opposed to the idea."

"So why'd you change it?" he asked.

"To honour Shepard. I engraved my name with her's."

"Aw, that's swe – hold on." Wrex looked to the side. "Yeah, Eve, I'm talking to someone." Liara got a chuckled from imagining what setting down was like for the clan leader. "I've never seen you as much of a family man, Wrex." The krogan ushered Eve away and then looked back. "Wha's that? Oh, yeah; I'm not. But you don't have to settle down to have a family, if you know what I mean" he said, laughing deeply. The asari kept her mind away from any images of that. "I perish the thought. But I doubt that my name is all you came to talk about?" The krogan choked out his words as if he didn't want to say them. "It isn't. I... Shepard talked about krogan expansion with me when we were on Tuchunka. We've already expanded our populations, but we need a new place, maybe even a new homeworld. Tuchunka isn't looking too good, so I thought..."

"You thought you would use my network and communication skills to get you a new planet? I'll do it, but on one condition. No more wars."

"Definitely not. After the rebellions and the reaper war, the only warring I'll be doing is about who get's Eve to themselves!" He boomed loudly with laughter. Liara blushed and chuckled with him. "Wrex!"

"Sorry, sorry, I don't what's gotten into me. On the other hand, I know what's gotten into her!" He laughed again; T'Soni-Shepard smirked along with him. "Stop..."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop. Maybe it's all the battered varren leg I've been eating; anyway, I have to go. My people need me! See you later... T'Soni-Shepard." Liara leaned back in her chair and smiled at the thought of Wrex finally being beaten by somebody... children. T'Soni-Shepard reached down and felt her bump. She smirked.

 _November 18_ _th_ _, 2191_

 _1600 hours_

 _Eighlan, Leiha'Kaal Continent, Rannoch_

 _Fleet Admiral Tali'Vakarian vas Sillesh, Chief Intelligence Specialist Garrus Vakarian_

Garrus hurried down the catwalk, subtly admiring the view whilst scrolling through a data pad. "Garrus!" Tali yelled from another walkway. The turian looked over and waved with his free hand. The engineer quickly ran over to her lover, pulled off her mask and kissed him on the cheek. "I thought you were working" Vakarian said surprisingly. The two of them began walking together. "I was, but I got let off late. My colleagues told me to go home because they thought I was sick, but I wasn't, so that means I get to spend time with you!" Tali giggled and kissed the marksman on the cheek. "I haven't spoken to you about that class you started a while yet. How's that holding up?" she asked. Garrus looked about, then stared down at his data pad. "It seems as if they're doing fine. I taught them well. How are the crops by the southern lake doing?"

"They're well. A few of the stragglers further up stream have died off, but they were expendable."

"Keelah, you're starting to sound like a hitman" Vakarian replied. Tali smirked and stated, "Ooh, I love when you say keelah. It gets me all hot..."

"Better cool you down, or you might catch something" Vakarian retorted devilishly. The quarian pushed him playfully. "Stop it, you! So where are you going?"

"I was planning on going back to the office, maybe do some extra work."

"Or, we could go back home" Tali said seductively. Garrus chuckled quietly. "I thought you'd gone sterile in your old age. Let's go."

The two of them walked slowly back to their beachside property. As Garrus opened the door, he cleared his throat. "Daddy's home!" he yelled. Their three children came running to the door to greet their parents. "Mummy, daddy! How are the crops we planted?" one child asked.

"They're fine, Ziah" Tali said. "Don't you worry about them. Shall we go and play with your new toys?" The three children shouted in happiness.

Someone knocked on the door. Garrus looked to Tali and then stood up and opened the door once he got there. "Look who it is..." he said, turning around so that his children could see who was at the door. "Minny!" they shouted in unison, their shared nickname for the geth unit Terminator. They ran up to the bot and wrapped around his legs. "This unit can only handle a programmed amount of pressure!" it exclaimed. The kids laughed. Tali chuckled and stood up. "When will you be back with them?"

"ETA is 2000 hours." The kids groaned at their bedtime. Garrus looked down at the three children and chuckled. "Don't make those doughy-eyed faces at me! Eight pm, sharpish. Then some snacks before bed. If you're extra nice to me, maybe some of that show you like." They all cheered in appreciation. Vakarian looked at the geth unit and smirked. "Thanks. Bye bye now, kiddy's. Have fun with Minny!" He shut the door behind them.

He turned to his wife and warmly smiled at her. "Ooh, an empty house, a radio with some great romance songs..." she said, seductively leaning down and slowly bringing her hand up her leg. "Tempting..." the marksman began, stepping over to the quarian and embracing her in his arms. "You still got your old moves, Vakarian?" she questioned.

"You don't even need to ask..."

 _December 29_ _h_ _, 2190_

 _0100 hours_

 _Clubbing District, New Eden_

 _Jennifer 'Jack' Connely, Jason Prangley, Hiri Rodriguez_

As the three of them walked into the club, the music got louder, a lot louder. "How are you meant to hear anything in this place?" Hiri shouted. Jack ignored her and walked over to the bar. "Give me the strongest thing you have" she said. Prangley sat down next to her. "Me too." Jennifer audibly laughed loudly, turned to Jason and smiled. "You're serious? You can't handle the beers here!" Prangley threw the ex-teacher a confrontational look. Jack smiled and looked at the bartender as he handed out two drinks, both a dull orange colour. Connely grasped the drink tightly and swallowed it all with one swish. She coughed, and then looked around. "Where's Rodriguez?" she asked herself. Jason stayed at the table and prepared to drink whilst Jack got up and looked around for her female friend.

"There you are!" Jack called out as she saw Hiri on the dance floor. Rodriguez looked over and smiled. "Were you looking for me?" she asked over the bellowing music. Connely smiled and walked onto the glowing floor. "This is how it's done!" She began moving her body drastically, getting down on the ground and shaking her hips. She got back up to her feet and continued moving. "You're wild!" Rodriguez shouted. She tried to mimic her actions, but she couldn't. They slowly stopped and made their way out from the dance floor.

"You look like you're having fun!" one man said to Jack. The woman turned around to look at him. "I am! This is pretty good here!"

"That shouldn't come as a surprise. After Omega was lost, Aria helped design this new club. She now co-owns it. She's up in the overseers office, if you want to talk to her."

"Thanks!" Rodriguez said. She turned to Jennifer, who was looking at the bar. "We should go and see where Prangley is" the ex-ensign suggested. Jack nodded and walked over to the bar. At it sat Jason, coughing furiously. "How did you handle that?!" he exclaimed. Connely chuckled and patted the man on the back. "You're a wuss, Prangley. Get some balls. Come on. Let's get out of here."

The three of them made their way down the leisure district and found the swimming pool. Jack looked at everyone in the pool and sighed. "This pool's a bit crowded" she shouted to the lifeguard. "Is there anywhere else we can go?" The man turned around and looked at the ex-convict. "There are some VIP rooms on the upper level that will set you back twenty creds extra." Jack turned her head back to her friends and smiled, and then stared at the lifeguard. "I think we can manage that."

Jennifer, Jason and Hiri sauntered up the stairs and into the changing rooms. "Wow!" Rodriguez awed, "Look at this place!" She then remembered something important. "Do any of us have a change of clothes?" Prangley and Connely nodded. The female ex-ensign cursed under her breath. Jason looked between the two women. "Just tell me your sizes and I'll ask for some." Hiri and Jennifer revealed their sizes and then Jason made his way down to the bottom floor.

Once he was gone, Jack smiled. "You have the hots for him, don't you?" Rodriguez looked back in terror. "What?! No, I—I... no!"

"Of course you do." The ex-convict pulled off her boots casually and put them on the bench. "What are you doing?!" Hiri questioned uncomfortably. Jack smiled at the female. "Come on, Rodriguez! We're all adults here!" Hiri looked down at her feet and then slowly reached down to grab her boots. Jack sat down on the seat and undid the clasps on her leather jacket. Rodriguez unzipped her trousers and pulled them over her legs. Jack mimicked the action and put her jacket and trousers in a pile next to her combat boots. She pulled off her crop-top at the same time as Hiri pulled her tank top over her head. Jack put the top on the pile, stood up and stretched. "Ready?" she asked. The ex-ensign stood up and took a step closer. "Won't our underwear get wet?" she asked cautiously. Jennifer chuckled under her cool breath. "Haven't you ever gone nude under your clothes?" Rodriguez shook her head violently. "Then you haven't lived!" Jack shouted.

Jennifer and Hiri walked into the pool room and smirked. "Look at how clean this place is!" the ex-ensign exclaimed happily. Connely walked over to pool, sat over the edge, dipped her feet and then pushed herself in. "Come in, it's nice and warm!" she called. Rodriguez smiled and leapt into the pool. She emerged her head and brushed her dripping hair back from her eyes. "I wonder what's taking Jason so long" Hiri said, a worried tone in her voice. Jack burst out laughing happily. "Jason this, Jason this, Jason, lick my ass! You're obsessed with him! You want him!" Jack said accusingly. Hiri splashed the water in front of the ex-convict. Jack splashed her back, and they soon got into a water fight.

Jason walked out into the pool room. "You're back!" Rodriguez said enthusiastically. Prangely smiled. "I got the spare clothes. The guy gave us some towels, as well." He looked between the two women. Jennifer spoke, "Nice. Put 'em in the changing rooms. And get it right, dipshit." Jason nodded and walked out of sight into the changing rooms. Jack glanced at Hiri and smirked. "Get in there" she mouthed, forming the shape of a heart with her hands. Rodriguez splashed Connely one more time.

Prangely jumped in the pool once he'd changed. "Shit, you're ripped!" Jack exclaimed at the sight of Jason's stomach. "How'd ya' get so ripped?!"

"I got to the gym here every few days" the man bragged. "Two or three hours per time." Rodriguez felt flushed as she laid eyes upon Prangley's toned body. "I... like it..." she said outwardly. Jason smiled awkwardly. Jennifer smirked and backed up. "Just fuck already. There are some showers in here if you're feeling adventurous." Hiri splashed the ex-convict again angrily, but at the same time, she tried her best to hide her embarrassment.

After a long swim and then a quickly shower and a change of clothes, Jack, Hiri and Jason stood out in the middle of the leisure district. "What should we do now?" asked Jennifer enthusiastically. Jason checked his omni-tool for the time. "Actually, I'm getting drowsy. I'll head back to my apartment."

"Maybe we can go back together" Rodriguez suggested. Jason smirked and spoke quietly, "I'd like that." Jack said her goodbyes and gave them a wave. "See you soon, love birds!" She turned around and looked where she was going. She smirked and headed to the bay.

 _February 6_ _th_ _, 2190_

 _2300 hours_

 _Wing A-4, Alliance Controlled Base, Serenity Space Station_

 _Chief Project Overseer Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, Chief Staff Overseer EDI, Chief Data and Analysis Overseer Samantha Traynor_

"Analyst Traynor" EDI said loudly. Samantha's head jumped as she opened her eyes. "Wha... what is it?"

"You had dozed off again" the A.I said accusingly. The analyst looked down at the floor shamefully and apologized. "Again? Sorry, EDI."

"My diagnostics indicate that you are tired. Perhaps you should rest."

"No, no. I can't. That ship program thing must be coming in soon; what's the progress on that, by the way?"

"The codenamed 'Pegasus Program' has arrived."

"Shall we tell Joker?" Traynor asked, sitting up enthustiastically.

"Yes."

"Who will break the news?"

"I believe it would be best for me to reveal it. After all, Jeff has a deeper personal connection with me than he does with you. No offence."

"None taken. Let's get going." EDI accessed her comm channels and called Joker. "Jeff. Analyst Traynor and I believe you are needed in the docking bay. Will you be there shortly to meet us?"

"Uh, yeah – yeah, just give me a second." EDI smiled and stopped the call, looking over at Samantha twiddling her thumbs. "We must go now. It is important that we are there before him."

The analyst and the machine briskly made their way to the docking bay, were they soon met with the pilot. "So what is it you ladies wanted me for?" he asked curiously. Traynor looked down at her commpad and switched on the lights in the bay. "Take a look."

As the bay lit up, the ship was revealed. A large, blocky ship with more guns than nessacary. Along the side, it read: _HWSS Colossus._

"What?!" Joker exclaimed happily. He ran over the catwalk to the airlock of the ship. He brushed his hands along the exterior happily. "How long have you known?" Jeff asked.

"A while" replied Traynor, smiling warmly.

"I have taken the time to insert my conscious into the ship's mainframe. I have also compiled a list of crew who will visit the station the soon; included in the list are some familiar faces. Analyst Traynor has triple-checked the systems and installed your most visited applications onto your drive." Jeff smiled and then looked back to EDI and Samantha. "Can I go inside?" he asked softly. The analyst nodded. Joker jumped in glee and went inside. He was like a little kid exploring his new house for the first. "I think he's happy with us" Samantha said, folding her arms. "I'd better be getting some presents and massages from this."

"And I'd better be getting some bondage gear." Traynor's eyes opened; she slowly turned to look at the bot in disgust. "That was a joke."

 _October 3_ _rd_ _, 2186_

 _1100 hours_

 _Raptured Valleys, Selira_

 _Clan Leader Urdnot Grunt, Clan Leader Urdnot Wreav, Clan Leader Urdnot Eve_

The three clan leaders carried the heaviest boxes, whilst the rest of the foot soldiers carried the other crates. Several tanks and choppers transported large shipments of needed resources.

As Eve laid eyes upon the clearing in the valley, her jaw dropped. "It's... beautiful." She ran her eyes along the soft landscape and down the crack in the largest hill on the range. She looked over to a large spring by the side of the huge clearing. "You think it'll be able to hold us?" Wreav asked, catching up with his fellow clan leaders. "We can always cover more ground" Wrex replied. Eve studied the distant landscape, and come across a faint flicker of light. "What is that?" she asked. Wreav looked at her. "What's what?"

"That!" she called out, pointing to the light. Wrex's brother shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see anything." Eve sighed deeply and left her box with Wreav. "Maybe you just lack an eye for beauty." The leader grumbled vocally. "Hey!" he exclaimed unhappily. "Where are you going?!"

"To find out what it is!" Eve shouted. She made her way to the light, step by step.

"Down here" Wrex said, putting his box down by his feet. Wreav put his boxes on top of his brother's. "Watch my toes!" the red-donning krogan yelled. Wreav passed his brother and walked to the front of the crowd. "Get in contact with the rest of the cargo. Wrex'll tell you where to put it." As the crowd went by, Wreav looked to the large red sun in the sky. "A new start" he said softly. "For all of us."

Eve ground down the rock face and landed on the rocky platform just above the light. She got down onto her hands and knees and stared over the edge. She aimlessly reached for the light, and grabbed something in her palm. She pulled the object up to her face and examined it. It was a green gem in some sort of old metal. She turned it over in her hand and scanned over the foreign the text at the back. "What do we have here..."

 **Well, there you have it. The finale to the finale. Now, onto the important thing. I haven't been able to make this decision, so I'll leave it to a public vote. Either answer the poll I'll be putting up, or tell me in the reviews or PM's with what you'd like to see in a sequel to this story. I hoped you enjoyed this story, and I hope you'll join me on my adventures!**

 **P.S: If you're wondering, New Eden is what the galaxy built as a replacement to the citadel, but it's a lot nicer and a lot LOT bigger.**


End file.
